The ongoing investigation by a special investigation team (SIT) of the Telangana police into the alleged phone tapping during the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi government seems to have triggered a panic among the party leadership.
Though BRS working president K T Rama Rao and his cousin – former minister T Harish Rao are trying to brush it aside as a “lottapeesu case” (silly and frivolous case), sources in the party said the leadership is feeling the noose tightened around it.
According to the latest information from the party sources, KTR and Harish Rao, who were grilled by the SIT for seven hours each, were clearly that the investigators might even summon party president and former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao for questioning, adding to the unease within the party.
The leadership is reportedly keen on formulating a coordinated response to the investigation and the political narrative emerging around it.
On Saturday, KTR and Harish Rao rushed to KCR’s Erravelli farmhouse to discuss the way out, in the event of the phone tapping case turns serious.
Apparently, the BRS leadership is trying to divert the attention of the people from the tapping issue. KTR has repeatedly alleged that he is being subjected to “character assassination,” claiming that baseless insinuations were spread linking him to film personalities.
“But he seems to have forgotten that social media platforms aligned with BRS allegedly carried defamatory reports targeting a woman IAS officer, which only indicate his double standards,” an analyst said.
Another BRS leader and former IPS officer R S Praveen Kumar tried to defend the telephone tapping done during the BRS regime, saying it is a common practice and not a crime.
He pointed out that even present SIT chief Sajjannar and DGP Shivadhar Reddy had indulged in tapping of opposition leaders’ phones during the infamous cash-for-vote scam.
On the other hand, Harish Rao directly resorted to intimidate the investigating officers warning them that they would have to face the music, once the BRS returns to power.
The Telangana Police Officers’ Association subsequently warned political leaders against undermining or threatening legally constituted investigations.
The BRS leaders are also trying to play down the investigation, saying the investigators had asked meaningless questions and in fact, they counter-questioned the SIT effectively during interrogation.
Investigators, however, maintain that all statements and evidence—including alleged proof of phone tapping—have been officially recorded and will be assessed strictly within the legal framework.
“All these attempts show that the BRS leaders are in a state of panic as the investigation is taking a serious turn with every passing day,” sources said.