Jaipur, Feb 13 (IANS) Former Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot on Wednesday questioned the Bhajan Lal government over its silence on phone tapping allegations made by state minister Kirodi Lal Meena.
Addressing the media persons, Pilot pointed out that a sitting minister had accused his own government of phone tapping. However, the government has remained silent on the matter. Furthermore, despite the minister resigning months back, his resignation has not been accepted.
Pilot emphasised that no government has the right to violate an individual’s privacy, regardless of their position.
“If a minister himself is alleging that his phone is being tapped and is speaking about it publicly, the government must respond,” he stated.
Criticising the government’s inaction, Pilot noted that while the minister has stepped down, his resignation remains unaccepted.
“Instead of addressing the serious allegations, the party is merely questioning him on why he spoke out. If an ordinary citizen made such claims, it would be one thing. But when a minister does, and the government still remains silent, it seems like a mockery of democracy,” he added.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Home, Jawahar Singh Bedham criticised Sachin Pilot for engaging in what he calls “petty politics.” He asserted that the recent controversy over alleged phone tapping is baseless and purely an internal matter of the BJP.
He said that Kirodi Lal Meena has already addressed the issue, and clarified that none of his phones were tapped.
Bedham reaffirmed that under the BJP government, no phone belonging to any MLA or minister was tapped.
Further attacking Sachin Pilot recalling the rebellion during the year 2020, Bedham remarked that the Congress leader is merely trying to remain politically relevant.
He said that during Congress’s own tenure, Pilot himself was confined to a hotel and faced humiliation. At that time, even an MLA from his own camp publicly accused the Congress government of phone tapping, yet the party later reconciled without addressing the allegations.
Bedham accused Congress of attempting to divert attention from its failures by disrupting the Chief Minister’s response to the Governor’s address.
Despite these efforts, Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma successfully presented the achievements of the state government’s one year of good governance, he added.
Bedham advised Congress leaders to abandon such tactics, emphasising that the public is well aware of their actions.
He pointed out that Congress had already suffered a major defeat in the by-elections and warned that continued attempts to mislead the people would not succeed.
Highlighting Rajasthan’s progress under BJP governance, he asserted that the public has now completely rejected Congress.
–IANS
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