Cong questions Dhumal's 'silence' on phone tapping issue

The Congress today questioned former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal's 'silence' on the phone tapping issue and asked him to explain the reasons on the basis of which phones of around 1,400 persons, including Congress and BJP leaders, were 'tapped' during the former BJP regime.
"Dhumal government had not only violated the Indian Telegraph Act by phone tapping but also infringed upon the privacy of these people and the then chief minister (Dhumal) should explain to the people on what basis the phones of so many people, which included Congress, BJP leaders, journalists and common people, were tapped," HPCC President Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said.

He demanded to know "whether all the persons whose phones were tapped at that time were criminals or anti-social elements or what kind of threat they posed to state or the government at that time."
The Congress had raised the issue during the 2012 Assembly Elections and now even senior BJP leader and Kangra MP Shanta Kumar had raised this issue.
"Not only Shanta Kumar had raised these serious questions on phone tapping but he had also demanded a CBI inquiry into the case," he said.
During the previous BJP regime, Dhumal was the chief minister and also holding the Home portfolio and as such he cannot escape the moral responsibility on this sensitive issue, he added.

"Instead of levelling false allegations against Congress government and its leaders, Dhumal should explain his government's motive behind tapping of phones of over 1400 persons," he said, adding, it appears that levelling false allegation on opposition leaders and keeping mum on the issues concerning their party and its leaders has become a tradition with BJP.