MVA announces probe into phone tapping by Fadnavis govt

The Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government on Tuesday announced a probe into allegations that the phone of Maharashtra Congress president and MLA Nana Patole was tapped during the tenure of the erstwhile BJP-led dispensation led by Devendra Fadnavis.

A few months ago, Patole, who is a former Speaker, alleged that along with his phone, the phones of several important leaders of NCP, BJP, Shiv Sena as well as those of IAS and IPS officers were also tapped in 2016-17.

“Why this was done... Who is the ‘sutradhar’… We must know! Phone was tapped by police on the pretext that it belonged to one ‘Amjad Khan’, who was involved in the narcotics trade. This is an attack on an individual's freedom,” Patole said in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

“Why was my phone number linked to a Muslim name and a drug peddler? Didn't the officials know I was a (BJP) MP (at that time)?" he asked.

State Water Resources minister Jayant Patil sought to know how many legislators were under surveillance.

State Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil said the issue needs to be probed thoroughly. "A high-level inquiry will be conducted and action will be taken," the minister said, adding a report on it will be tabled in the House during the next session.

It may be mentioned that Patole, a three-term Congress MLA, resigned in 2014 and joined BJP to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Bhandara-Gondiya defeating Praful Patel, the lieutenant of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar. But, in 2017, he raised a banner of revolt against Prime Minister Narendra Modi – the first one to do so - and resigned his seat to re-join Congress. He lost the Lok Sabha polls in 2019 from Nagpur against BJP stalwart Nitin Gadkari but won the Sakoli seat and entered the Vidhan Sabha again to become the Speaker, but this year he resigned to take over as MPCC chief.

The incident of his phone tapping took place in 2016-17.