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BRS leader RS Praveen Kumar on Sunday defended party chief K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) amid questioning by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the alleged phone-tapping case.
"KCR is the man who fought for Telangana. He is the most senior politician in Telangana. He ruled Telangana for 10 years as one of the best chief ministers in this country. Unfortunately, he is being questioned as a witness in a so-called tapping case," RS Praveen Kumar said. He added, "The way the police have issued the notice is completely illegal. Instead of going to his house, these policemen illegally pasted the notice at KCR's residence. Therefore, we have strongly protested against the police's aggressive, illegal behaviour and that of Mr Revanth Reddy. Telangana people are going to teach a befitting lesson to these people." A large number of BRS party workers gathered outside KCR's residence at Nandi Nagar in Hyderabad, raising slogans in his support. Former Chief Minister KCR and BRS working president KT Rama Rao greeted party leaders and workers who had assembled outside. The SIT, which is probing the phone-tapping case, had issued fresh notices to KCR on January 30. Several BRS leaders, including KCR's son KT Rama Rao and nephew T Harish Rao, were earlier questioned in connection with the case. A heavy police presence was deployed at KCR's Nandi Nagar residence ahead of the scheduled 3 pm questioning. In response to the SIT notice, BRS called for statewide protests, with party workers donning black badges to mark dissent against the Telangana government. Demonstrations were staged across the state, reflecting opposition to questioning the party chief in the alleged case. The phone-tapping case surfaced after former DCP P Radhakrishna Rao alleged that telephones belonging to media personalities, retired police officers, and politicians were monitored during the BRS government tenure to track KCR's political rivals. KCR, in a letter dated January 30, 2026, to P Venkatagiri, Assistant Commissioner of Police, said he would be available at 3 pm for questioning. He wrote, "The alleged letter dated 30.1.2026 is not served as required by law, and the same is illegal, and I can simply ignore the same. Further, such service violates my dignity guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India and Article 14 of the Constitution of India." He added, "Notwithstanding the above legal position, I being a former Chief Minister for the State of Telangana and present Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly and also as a responsible citizen of this country in order to assist the department in the investigation of the subject crime, I would be available for my examination at 3 pm on 01.02.2026 at Nandi Nagar residence as you are keen to record my statement there only." (ANI)
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