Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray Phone Tapping Row: Devendra Fadnavis Dismisses Allegations, Says 'Maharashtra Government Free to Conduct Inquiry'
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday rejected allegations that his government tapped phones of political opponents, including Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar and incumbent Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
Mumbai, January 24: Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday rejected allegations that his government tapped phones of political opponents, including Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar and incumbent Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. Devendra Fadnavis questioned the credibility of those who made accused the previous BJP government, saying that the current regime can conduct an inquiry into the allegations. WhatsApp Snoopgate: Priyanka Gandhi's Phone Also Targeted Through Israeli Spyware Pegasus, Alleges Congress.
“Everyone is aware of the credibility of those who have made such allegations," Fadnavis was quoted by TOI as saying. "The minister of state for home at the time was from the Sena (Deepak Kesarkar). Maharashtra knows the truth. I have only one request, the government must conduct an immediate inquiry and place the report before the people," the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said.
Earlier, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh alleged that the previous BJP government had tapped phones of opposition leaders like Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar and Sanjay Raut. "We have received many complaints of phone-tapping and snooping by the previous government. Phones of senior politicians like Uddhav Thackeray, Sanjay Raut and even Sharad Pawar were tapped to know whom they were tapping to," he said.
On Thursday, Raut, in a tweet, said that he was told by the BJP minister that his phone was being tapped. "Your phone is being tapped. This was told to me by a senior BJP minister earlier. I told him whoever wishes to listen to my conversations is free to do so. I am a disciple of Balasaheb Thackeray, I don't do anything secretly," the Shiv Sena leader tweeted.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 24, 2020 05:05 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).