HP Cong demands thorough probe into phone tapping

Himachal Pradesh Congress today staged demonstrations at all district headquarters demanding speedy and thorough enquiry into the alleged phone tapping during the previous BJP regime in the state.
Congress workers led by ministers and senior leaders submitted a memorandum to the state government alleging that as per preliminary inputs into the probe, "it is clear that the BJP government and its Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal were prima facie involved in phone tapping, an act of moral turpitude and an offence under law of the land".
"The act of the BJP government is an offence against the innocent and honest people of the state and the then government not only committed an offence but also lowered the estimation of Himachal by committing shocking crime of invading the privacy of citizens", the memorandum said.

Releasing copies of the memorandum, HPCC President Sukhvinder Singh Sukkhu and Vice President Harsh Mahajan said that the Congress party would fully expose the BJP on this issue and make them aware that the "privacy of people was invaded by the BJP government by illegal tapping of phones on a very large scale".
Terming the action of BJP government as 'moral turpitude' and infringement of freedom of speech and expression and right to privacy, the memorandum said that the "provisions in Telegraph Act 1885 and Information and Technology Act 2000 which gave powers of interception of communication only when it is necessary," further alleging that the BJP government violated all rules.

According to the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court of India the orders of phone tapping can be issued only by the home secretary of the Centre and the home secretaries of state governments.