Amid controversy of mass scale phone tapping, former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal on Friday clarified that he had never given any written or verbal orders for illegal phone-tapping as claimed by ruling Congress.
“I never gave any orders for phone-tapping and there is no question of giving verbal orders for phone-tapping. Can the ruling Congress tell if work is being done verbally during its regime,” said Dhumal.
Dhumal’s clarification came after Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had said that since his predecessor held the home portfolio it seems he gave verbal orders to then DGP for illegal phone tapping.
“I had always said from the beginning that BJP welcomes any investigation ordered by the State Government and had demanded that investigation should be ordered in the case by the sitting judge of High Court,” said Dhumal.
Questioning the reporting of investigating agencies, Dhumal said that it should be made public whom these agencies are reporting to, whether it is Chief Minister or IPH Minister as before
the statement of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, different statements of IPH
Minister Vidya Stokes have appeared in media.
Dhumal asked whether phone tapping was being done now or not or amid the hype created around the case, anti-social elements are being given free run as a few days back, a drug peddler was caught with huge cache of heroine drugs worth Rs2 crore.
He said that every Government takes the advantage of these hi-tech phone tapping devices to keep a tab on the anti-social elements and if any individual has misused these instruments then he needs to be brought to book at any cost.
Dhumal advised the State Government to focus on the people centric policies and schemes and fulfill the promises made in the poll manifesto of Congress party instead of indulging in this kind of political mudslinging.
In a report submitted to the State Government by State Forensic Science laboratory (FSl), over 1,600 phones were tapped in past five years for which permissions were granted by the home department, only for 200 phones to be put under surveillance.
Meanwhile, for the upcoming Budget Session of Himachal Pradesh Assembly, both Congress and BJP MlAs have asked several questions on the phone tapping issue.
The Budget Session is likely to remain stormy over the issue and both the parties are trying to corner each other.