BRS 'extorted crores via phone tapping', claims Telangana CM Revanth Reddy

Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Sunday alleged that the previous BRS regime blackmailed businessmen and extorted hundreds of crores of rupees through phone-tapping.

While addressing a public meeting at Chelpur in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district ahead of the February 11 municipal elections, the CM dubbed the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) the "Blackmail Rajakeeya (Political) Samiti".

"They engaged in telephone tapping and did not spare opposition leaders, high court judges, or even journalists. They eavesdropped on private conversations between husbands and wives, listened in on film stars, and even blackmailed businessmen. Is there anything more atrocious on earth? Is there a greater sinner than them?" Reddy alleged.

He noted that Telangana BJP MP Konda Vishweshwar Reddy had alleged his phone was tapped.

The CM quoted MP saying that phones were tapped, land buyers were blackmailed, and crores of rupees were collected through electoral bonds.

"I want to say officially that the BRS, which extorted crores of rupees through telephone tapping, should be called the Blackmail Rajakeeya Samiti," he claimed.

The Telangana CM also claimed that the BRS used phone tapping to collect Rs 1,500 crore in electoral bonds.

"Whose money is this? Is it not true that thousands of crores in assets and hundreds of acres of land were bought cheaply and taken by threatening businessmen?" Reddy asked.

He also questioned why Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister G Kishan Reddy had not put them behind bars.

He said the sins committed would not go unpunished and that the BRS would be "buried under the weight of these sins".

Reddy further claimed that the BRS facilitated the BJP's victory in eight Lok Sabha seats in 2024 only to evade these cases.

"Now the BRS is doing the same to ensure the BJP's victory in the municipal elections," he said, adding, "The BJP and BRS are two sides of the same coin. They are directly and indirectly trying to defeat the Congress, and Congress workers should be wary of this."

Earlier, speaking at Nizamabad on February 7, he described the BRS and BJP as "conjoined twins, like Veena and Vani."

Veena and Vani are well-known in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and several past attempts to separate them surgically were unsuccessful.

The phone-tapping case involves allegations of widespread unauthorised and illegal phone surveillance and interception affecting politicians, businessmen, journalists, members of the judiciary, and other prominent individuals during the previous BRS government.

BRS President and former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) was recently questioned by the Telangana Police SIT in connection with the alleged phone-tapping case.

Reddy strongly objected to what he called the "false propaganda" by the BRS regarding the reorganisation of districts, including claims that Bhupalpally district would be abolished.

He clarified that the government is not considering abolishing any district or creating a new one.

He added that if any such proposal arises in the future, it will be thoroughly discussed in the Assembly before a decision is taken.

The CM also attacked the Central government for not ordering a CBI probe into alleged corruption in the Kaleshwaram project and the Formula-E race case.

He criticised the Centre for registering ED cases against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

"Who is stopping the Centre from ordering a CBI probe into the Kaleshwaram scam? Is Kishan Reddy not protecting K T Rama Rao in the Formula-E race case?" he asked, alleging that Kishan Reddy is shielding BRS leaders KCR, K T Rama Rao, and Harish Rao through a strong personal bond.

"Kishan Reddy rechristened himself as Kishan Rao and became the adopted son of KCR," he claimed.

Appealing to voters to support Congress in the municipal elections, Reddy said KCR served as chief minister for 10 years, while Modi has been the prime minister since 2014.

"If you vote for Congress, your problems will be solved. KCR will not release funds, as he is already resting at his farmhouse. Modi has never visited Bhupalpally," he added.

Reddy also stated that the state government has sanctioned Rs 17,442 crore for municipalities and corporations in Telangana.