New Delhi, February 18: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday alleged her phone calls are being tapped by intelligence agencies. Mamata Banerjee also said she has evidence to prove her claim, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of inciting communal tension in West Bengal.

"The government had inputs from intelligence agencies on February 8 that such attacks might happen before elections. Why no action was taken? Why 78 convoys were still allowed?... I also have intelligence reports that my phone is always taped, as you all know," she said, while referring to a terror attack on a CRPF convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama on February 14. 40 jawans were martyred in the attack carried out by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed. Pulwama Terror Attack: How CRPF Jawans Fell in JeM Trap.

In December last year, Banerjee instructed state government officials to stop sharing data with the central government. She alleged Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government at the Centre was misusing the data provided from state governments. She also criticised the recent home ministry notification empowering 10 central agencies to access all computers, if there is a requirement of surveillance.

The central government has not given “blanket power” to any agency to intercept information from any computer and they have to strictly adhere to the existing rules and stick to the book while carrying out such action, the home ministry later clarified.

The December 20 Home Ministry notification, listing the 10 agencies, had set off a political storm with the opposition accusing the government of trying to create a “surveillance state”. However, the central government maintained that the rules for intercepting and monitoring computer data were framed in 2009 when the Congress-led UPA was in power and its new order only notified the designated agencies which can carry out such action.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 18, 2019 04:42 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).