BJP leader Sovan Chatterjee. Chatterjee, who was recently made observer of BJP's Kolkata zone, also announced a host of party programmes for this month. (file) Sovan Chatterjee, who had quit the Trinamool Congress to join the BJP, on Thursday accused the Mamata Banerjee government of tapping his mobile phone since he joined the saffron party in 2019. The ruling TMC rejected the charge, saying that the mobile phone tapping is done by the Centre and not by the state government.
Addressing his first news conference as a BJP leader, Chatterjee said, “A lot of people say that they cannot get in touch with me over the phone. Later, I noticed that my phone was under surveillance. My activities were being monitored by phone tapping. I was forced to change my phone number.”
Chatterjee, who was recently made observer of BJP’s Kolkata zone, also announced a host of party programmes for this month. The former Kolkata mayor said that a team of party leaders would start a door-to-door soon in the city. The party would also organise multiple rallies in Diamond Habour, Raidighi, Kolkata and Baruipur, he added.
Reacting to his phone-tapping charge, Trinamool MP Sougata Roy said, “I cannot understand what allegations is he trying to make. The state government cannot tap mobile phones. It is done by the Centre. If his phone was indeed under surveillance then he could have used WhatsApp of Facetime to make calls. We use these apps to make calls. This is basically a baseless charge to show his importance as a political leader.”