Raghunandan Rao claims he is main victim of phone-tapping

BJP MP M. Raghunandan Rao has intensified his criticism of the ongoing phone-tapping investigation in Telangana, asserting that he is the “primary victim” of the illegal surveillance conducted during the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) regime.

In a press conference on Thursday, Rao expressed frustration over not being summoned for questioning by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) despite his repeated claims of being targeted.

He also alleged that the probe is “not moving in the right direction,” raising concerns about its impartiality and thoroughness.

Rao, the former Dubbak MLA and current Medak Lok Sabha MP, stated, “I am the main victim of phone tapping. I was the first to expose it during the 2020 Dubbak by-election. Why haven’t I been called for questioning? The investigation seems to be a daily serial, lacking seriousness.”

He reiterated his allegations that former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) orchestrated the tapping, with former SIB chief T. Prabhakar Rao and other officials acting on his instructions. Rao demanded that KCR be named the primary accused and that the probe extend back to 2014, when Telangana was formed, to uncover the full extent of the surveillance.

The BJP leader claimed his phone, along with those of his family, was tapped during the 2020 Dubbak by-election and the 2023 Assembly elections, allegedly by a “war room” set up in Siddipet involving KCR, then-minister T. Harish Rao, and then-Siddipet District Collector P. Venkatrami Reddy.

Rao further alleged that the surveillance was used to extort money and influence elections, citing the seizure of Rs 1 crore linked to his relatives during the Dubbak bypoll as evidence of targeted harassment.

The phone-tapping scandal, which surfaced after the arrest of former SIB DSP D. Praneeth Rao in March 2024, involves allegations of illegal surveillance of opposition leaders, including current Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, BJP leaders like Rao and Eatala Rajender, and even some BRS members. Former SIB chief T. Prabhakar Rao, a key accused, has been questioned but is reportedly uncooperative, refusing to name senior officials or political leaders involved.