Union Minister Bandi Sanjay demands CBI inquiry into phone tapping

Hyderabad: Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay appeared before SIT officials for questioning in Hyderabad on Friday morning in connection with the phone tapping case.

During two hours of interrogation, SIT officials recorded Sanjay's statement as a witness and collected relevant evidence he provided.

Sanjay testified that his phones, along with those of his family members, OSD, and personal staff, were illegally tapped during the previous BRS government's tenure.

SIT officials revealed to him that surveillance of his communications had begun when he assumed the role of Telangana BJP chief, presenting him with detailed data showing whom he contacted and the duration of those conversations.

The officials also shared specific information about his communications with political leaders during the Munugode and Huzurabad by-elections. In response, the Union Minister presented evidence collected by central intelligence agencies corroborating the tapping of his phone. Sanjay becomes the first Union Minister of State for Home Affairs to testify before the SIT regarding the phone tapping case. The BJP continued to demand that the investigation be transferred to the CBI for a more comprehensive probe.

"I appeared for questioning today as per the notice given by the SIT officials. It has come to light that my phones were being tapped every moment. Even I was shocked to discover several things. They tapped the phones using the pretext of Maoists. Along with me, phones of Revanth Reddy and BRS MLAs were also tapped. In fact, I was the first person to expose the issue of phone tapping.

Not only were my phones tapped, but even the phones of my staff, family, and workers were tapped. Shockingly, even the phones of KCR’s daughter and son-in-law were also tapped. I don't even know what to call such disgusting people,” Sanjay told reporters after coming out of the SIT office.

He said he had handed over all the information and evidence related to the phone tapping to the SIT.

“I was shocked to hear the revelations made by the SIT police during the inquiry. Whatever political programmes I planned, the police already knew about them in advance. They used to call our staff and ask, 'You are planning this particular programme, right?'

Now I understand—it was all because of the phone tapping. That’s why, during KCR’s regime, everyone used only WhatsApp calls. Even beggars wouldn't use regular phone calls—this shows the extent of atrocities under the BRS rule,” he said.

Sanjay also said that when BJP leaders were discussing protest plans over the Group-1 paper leak issue on phone, the police, having tapped the conversation, went to their homes and stopped them in advance. “An even more shocking fact—phones of the judges investigating the Group-1 paper leak case were also tapped.

"This shows how low KCR stooped. Not just politicians, they tapped the phones of businessmen and extorted thousands of crores. Let me give one example. During the last elections, Rs 7 crore was seized from the Congress MP candidate from Khammam. In total, hundreds of crores were seized from Congress leaders. But no one knows what happened to all that money. If Rs 20 crore was seized, they used to show only Rs 2 crore in the records and pocket the remaining Rs 18 crore,” the union minister added.

It's been over a year and a half, and yet no action has been taken against the KCR family. That’s why we don’t trust this government. BJP’s state president Ramchandra Rao, along with leaders of the Legal Cell, has already approached the High Court seeking a CBI probe. The case is under investigation, he said.

“If the Congress government has any integrity, I demand that it immediately order a CBI inquiry into the phone tapping issue. But the moment we raise this issue, both Congress and BRS jointly attack the BJP. As part of the SIT investigation, I have handed over the information and evidence I have to the police.

"The CBI cannot directly conduct an investigation in the state. It was during KCR’s rule that a Government Order (GO) was issued to block CBI entry. Without a High Court order or a request from the state government, the CBI cannot initiate a direct probe. If the CBI had the authority to directly investigate, by now KCR and his son would’ve been dragged and thrown into jail,” he added.