JAIPUR: The state government on Wednesday reiterated that no privacy of representatives of people, including ministers, MPs and MLAs, was breached during last year’s political crisis.
Rejecting the BJP's allegations on phone tapping, parliamentary affairs minister Shanti Dhariwal while replying in the house said the BJP raking up the issue to protect union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
He said the chief minister would offer his resignation if these allegations were proved right. "Not only the chief minister, all of us will resign," Dhariwal added.
Dhariwal said SOG while intercepting phone calls of illegal arms smugglers stumbled upon the conversation of attempts from some quarters to destabilise the government.
He informed that Vijay Kumar Rai, inspector, voice logger section, SOG, filed a report on July 10, 2020, reported that an attempt was being made to topple the government by poaching MLAs. Party chief whip Mahesh Joshi had registered an FIR based on media reports and the ACB is still investigating the case, he added.
The Opposition BJP rushed to the well of the House demanding a CBI inquiry and the assembly adjourned twice for half an hour due to uproar.
Dhariwal was giving his reply after the discussion on the issue during Zero Hour. He said that till date our government has not done any phone-taping of any member, whereas the phone-tapping of 90,000 people has been done by the Union government triggering protest by the Opposition.
Earlier, Dhariwal stated in his written statement that under the Indian Telegraph Act 1885, the Centre and the state government have been authorised for telephone interception and public order to protect the security of the nation and the state and to prevent crime. Legal interceptions are carried out by units of Rajasthan police to fulfil the objectives prescribed by law.
He said that this system is equally prevalent in all states. The central government also grants permission for inter-state interceptions when necessary. As per the rules, cases related to interception are regularly reviewed by a committee constituted under the chairmanship of the chief secretary. The state government has strictly followed these rules and no exemption has been given in this regard anywhere, he said.
Minister said on July 17, 2020, the SOG filed three FIRs on the charge of destabilising the elected government with money. The cases were later transferred to the ACB. In this first information report, a person named Gajendra Singh was also talking to Sanjay Jain who is plotting to topple the government. He asked why Union minister Gajendra Singh not cooperated with the investigation?
Earlier, initiating the discussion, Opposition leader Kataria said the charges of destabilising government were made to malign the BJP. He said those who did illegal phone-tapping to be brought to book.
Deputy leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore and Satish Poonia said the government had no moral right to be in office while seeking a CBI probe.