State govt tapping phones of opposition MLAs, alleges Congress

A Congress MLA on Friday accused the BJP government in Rajasthan of tapping the phones of some MLAs from opposition parties.

Vishwendra Singh, MLA from Deeg-Kumher, raised the allegation during zero hour of the state assembly.

"It has been revealed through government sources that phone calls made by Kirori Lal Meena (MLA of National People's Party), Hanuman Beniwal (independent MLA) and me are being tapped," said Singh, demanding a reply from the government.

However, parliamentary affairs minister Rajendra Rahore dismissed the accusation.

"This is a baseless allegation. You have been reduced to such a small number, where is the need for tapping phones?" Rahore responded.

But Meena raised the same issue again and called it a "serious" matter. He urged assembly speaker Kailash Meghwal not to take the issue lightly and to intervene.

"I am not taking the issue lightly and will do whatever is possible at my level," Meghwal replied.

Talking to the media outside the assembly, Beniwal said the government was trying to get opposition MLAs in trouble and frame them in false cases.

"Phones are tapped of the people who are either involved in criminal activities or are terrorists," he said.

"We will expose government's corruption, including the Rs 32,000-crore corruption charge levelled against them in their previous tenure."

Meanwhile, Meena during zero hour also demanded a ban on liquor across the state.

He said the BJP during the Suraaj Yatra before elections had talked about Narendra Modi's development model in Gujarat, where liquor is banned.

Meena cited an incident where a woman was murdered by her son in an inebriated condition.

He said the liquor tenders were released recently and the state government received 26,000 applications from only Jaipur district, along with Rs 636 crore as application fees.

The previous Congress government in Rajasthan had last year assured former MLA Gurusharan Chabra of a policy decision on liquor ban and even constituted a high-level committee after he sat on a hunger strike, Meena said.

The NPP leader said the committee had made 15 proposals, but BJP government had instead made changes to promote liquor.

"The law and order in the state is suffering because of liquor, the mafia is on the rise, and crime is increasing," he said.

"Will the government ban liquor following the Gujarat model?"

But Rathore refuted the charge and said the state government was neither promoting liquor nor had it had tampered with the committee recommendations.

The assembly was adjourned sine die later in the day.