Parliament is likely to witness a major uproar on Wednesday with the Congress-led Opposition all set to raise the issue of alleged bugging of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari’s New Delhi residence.
A senior Congress leader, who is also a member of the Upper House, said the Congress will take on board other Opposition parties to raise the issue in both Houses. The Opposition will demand a clarification/statement on the controversy from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said.
“The bugging episode concerns a senior Cabinet Minister and is a serious issue. Houses of other leaders may also be bugged and thus it should be taken up in Parliament,” said Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha.
The party has also decided to stall proceedings over a CAG report highlighting undue benefits given to industrial houses in Gujarat and communal violence in Uttar Pradesh. Gadkari has denied that his house was bugged and the BJP accused the Opposition party of raising “non-issues” to malign the Government’s image and “preserve its identity”.
Unconvinced by Gadkari’s denial, Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh demanded a probe by an investigating agency into the episode saying it was a serious matter. “It concerns the security of an important person in the Indian Cabinet. If it can happen to him, then God save the country,” he said.
His views were echoed by former External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, who also demanded an enquiry. Another Congress leader Manish Tewari said the Government must inform the citizens of the legal architecture available to protect themselves from such incidents.
The Congress is likely to be more aggressive in the Rajya Sabha where the Opposition enjoys majority. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has already said that the Government should come clean on the matter.
CPI member D Raja said since it is a serious matter there should be a proper investigation as to how someone had unauthorized access to Gadkari’s house. Pointing out that the BJP had raked up the issue in Parliament when Arun Jaitlely’s call detail records (CDRs) were illegally accessed; Raja said Gadkari’s episode should also be taken up effectively.
“There should be a probe. There should be a thorough investigation in the entire issue. The denial issued by Gadkari in not convincing anyone in the nation because people now strongly believe that snooping is going on, bugging is going on, phone tapping is going on. Earlier the BJP itself opposed the matter of snooping, and then it ordered that Delhi Police should investigate the matter in Jaitley’s CDR case,” Raja said.