Phone tapping :BJP seeks clarification from UPA govt

15 Feb 2011



Seeking clarification by the UPA government on the issue of phone tapping , BJP describing it as a \"cause of grave concern\".The Supreme Court on Friday voiced serious concerns over the possibility of telephones of key government functionaries getting tapped on the basis of forged documents.



Terming the phone tapping as a misuse of power , BJP sought a clarification from the UPA government at the Centre on alleged tapping of over one lakh telephones across the country.



Describing it as a \"cause of grave concern\",opposition leader in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said \"The government has to confirm that tapping is being done on consideration of security and also state how many phones are being tapped\".



The Supreme court expressed amazement that officials of a service operator could allow the interception of the telephones on the basis of letters that were full of glaring spelling and grammatical mistakes.



The court wondered if officials who had dealt with genuine communications from Delhi Police and Delhi government could distinguish between genuine and fake communications.

\"Today on the basis of a case in the Supreme Court, media reports said that one lakh phones are being tapped in the country\", he told reporters on the sidelines of the meeting of National office-bearers of the party.



Pointing out that misuse of power was taking place ,Jaitley said \"for consequences of what is being done, it is important that the government comes out with a clarification\".



BJP leader L K Advani, party president Nitin Gadkari,Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, Chattishgarh chief minister Raman Singh and Jaitley arein New Delhi for attending the meet.



\"The meeting will take stock of the situation in the five states going to the polls, the party\'s preparedness and prospects of alliance with other parties,\" BJP central observer Chandan Mitra had said here yesterday.

On reports that the government could agree to a JPC probe into the 2G scam, Jaitley said, \"Let there be an

announcement by the government. Then only we will come out with our reaction\".





\"It is a cause of grave concern...the country\'s law states that tapping can be done in extreme cases like security considerations or in case of a serious crime\", Jaitley said.



Claiming that the alleged number of tapped phones was higher than even in police states, Jaitley sought an authoritative clarification from the central government on the issue.



\"The figure is so large that it is frightening and phones are tapped simultaneously by the Centre and the states. We would like to know the exact number of phones being tapped and the ground on which they are being tapped\", he said.






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