Gadkari bugging row: Congress demands probe, Centre rejects

The controversy over the alleged bugging at the residence of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari's house refused to die down with Congress today demanding a probe and government virtually rejecting it.

Gadkari, who holds the portfolio of Highways and Transport, himself calibrated his statement today completely denying there was any bugging while yesterday he had described reports in this regard with an ambivalent description that they were "highly speculative".

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and his Minister of State Kiren Rijiju declined to wade into the controversy saying Gadkari himself has clarified that these reports were highly speculative.

Asked whether the Home Ministry would initiate any probe into it, Rajnath Singh said, "Since Gadkari himself has denied, we have nothing to say on it."

Unconvinced by Gadkari's dismissal, Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh demanded a probe by an investigating agency into the episode saying it was a serious matter.

"It concerns the security of an important person in the Indian cabinet. If it can happen to him, then God save the country," he said.

His views were echoed by former External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, who also demanded an inquiry.

Another Congress leader Manish Tewari said the government must inform the citizens the legal architecture available to protect themselves from such incidents.

Rejecting the allegations that it was the UPA government that had done the bugging, he said the NDA was now in power and it should put in public domain all details it has about the incident.