Parliament LIVE: Snooping on Rahul not right, says Congress; Naidu plays it down

Congress on Monday raised the Rahul Gandhi snooping issue in the Rajya Sabha seeking explanation from the government. Speaking in the upper house, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said it was not justified to snoop on Rahul Gandhi. He further added that he hadn’t seen the pro forma in the last 30 years of his political career, which was allegedly used in profiling Rahul Gandhi.

Responding to the issue, BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu said, the Congress is blowing the issue out of proportion.

Congress spokesman Anand Sharma had earlier lashed out at the BJP and said, “India cannot be allowed to be converted into a police state…We will raise the issue in Parliament.” He added: “The present government has much to answer when it comes to citizens’ right to privacy… Both Modi and Amit Shah are now here…The practice they had adopted in Gujarat, they want to carry it out everywhere now.”

Sharma had stated in a TV interview earlier that phones of senior Opposition leaders were being tapped. When asked by reporters if had any evidence to substantiate this allegation, Sharma contended that “letters are not sent for phone-tapping to political leaders, judges and others.” He argued that it can be proved only if the Prime Minister and Home Minister give letters to Opposition leaders regarding the tapping of their phones.

Source:: Indian Express