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BRS Working President KT Rama Rao (KTR) on Tuesday termed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) enquiry into the alleged phone-tapping case as a "scripted drama" aimed at diverting public attention from the Congress government's "governance failures and unfulfilled promises."
Speaking to the media after an over eight-hour-long questioning by the SIT, KTR said he fully cooperated with the enquiry and answered all questions posed during the seven-and-a-half-hour session. However, he described the exercise as repetitive and lacking substance, alleging that officials merely read out hundreds of names without producing any concrete evidence. KTR questioned the SIT's silence on what he described as deliberate leaks to the media over the past two years, which, he alleged, were used to target the personal lives and reputations of BRS leaders and their families. He said the investigating agency failed to explain who was responsible for these leaks. Criticising the Congress-led government, KTR alleged that the practice of phone surveillance had not ended under the present regime and had, in fact, expanded. He cited reports of a "sitting minister" stating that he was unable to speak freely due to fear of phone tapping. KTR questioned why the government had not acted on such claims while allowing what he called "fictional narratives" against the opposition to be promoted through investigative agencies. The BRS leader also demanded that the government constitute SITs to probe corruption allegations involving members of the ruling dispensation. He referred to an alleged Rs 300 crore extortion attempt involving a "Minister's OSD, land-grabbing allegations against the son of a Revenue Minister, and the awarding of AMRUT scheme tenders to the Chief Minister's brother-in-law." He said these cases warranted the same scrutiny if the law was truly equal for all. KTR reiterated that the Bharat Rashtra Samithi was a law-abiding party and would not be intimidated by what he termed political vendetta. He pointed out that senior leaders, including himself and former Minister T. Harish Rao, appeared before the SIT immediately upon being summoned, without seeking legal relief or extensions. Calling upon the government to end "diversion politics," KTR urged it to focus on implementing the promises made to the people of Telangana. He said the BRS would continue to question and expose the failures of the Congress government. (ANI)
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