Ashok Gehlot accuses Vasundhara Raje govt of phone-tapping

Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot has accused the Vasundhara Raje government of snooping on political leaders and bureaucrats. He said there is an atmosphere of distrust which is hampering development in the state.

“Everyone, whether it is ministers, MLAs, bureaucrats or police officers, have been living in the constant fear that their phones are being tapped. It is suspected that Jaipur police commissionerate is tapping the phones,” Mr Gehlot said in an interaction with media on Saturday.

The former CM said many prominent persons have complained to the home secretary about this. He said that this was unethical because phone should be tapped only in cases of terrorism, hardcore criminals or anti-national elements. Even for that there is a clearly-laid-down procedure and deviating from that would not be good tradition. “One should know that many CMs minister had to resign on the issue of phone tapping,” he said.

“When ministers and government officials suspect that their phones are being tapped, it creates mistrust and fear in them, it affects development. Where there is distrust, there cannot be any development,” he said.

When told that home minister Gulab Chand Kataria has denied his allegation, Mr Gehlot asked if Mr Kataria has any control over his department. “He (Mr Kataria) wouldn’t even know if his own phone is put under surveillance,” he said.

The former CM also attacked the Raje government for increased corruption in the state. “I have toured six districts recently and everywhere people complained of rising corruption,” he said, adding that there is rampant corruption in the state capital, right under the nose of the chief minister.

He alleged that the Jaipur police commissioner, Jaipur development commissioner and district collector have been involved in corruption. “There should be a thorough inquiry into the tenures of these three officers,” he said.

According to Mr Gehlot, in the case of the police commissioner the home minister himself has said the police should focus on its basic work instead of getting involved in land deals. He said these three officers would take down the CM the same way Mr Lalit Modi did. “I had warned her about Lalit Modi’s dealing at that time, but she didn’t listen and got herself into trouble. I am warning her now and she would do well to pay heed to my warning,” he said.

Expressing surprise at CM Vasundhara Raje’s silence, Mr Gehlot said he could not believe that she was unaware of the conduct of these officers and suggested that maybe these officers give cuts to the top level, which forces her to stay quiet about what is happening. The former CM also accused Ms Raje of blocking the refinery and welfare schemes of the Congress government out of jealously.