Amar Singh moves SC over phone tapping issue

    New Delhi: Samajwadi party leader Amar Singh today moved the Supreme Court demanding an impartial inquiry into the telephone tapping case. Amar Singh accused the Congress President Sonia Gandhi of hatching a conspiracy against him and his Party. He also alleged that an industrialist and a journalist-turned-MP were involved in the telephone tapping "conspiracy". Singh claimed that at least 60 tapes involving leaders of different political parties, including that of BJP and Congress, were in the possession of Sonia Gandhi and would expose those behind the entire operation. He also alleged that the entire phone-tapping plan was executed by AICC general secretary Ambika Soni, former aide of Sonia Gandhi Pulak Chaterjee, Principal Secretary (Home) Delhi Government R Narayanswami, the Journalist MP and several others associated with 10-Janpath.

   The Congress has however, rejected the allegations made against party President Sonia Gandhi as "baseless". Accoring to the Congress spokesman, Anand Sharma, it had become a "habit" with the Samajwadi party to make "dramatic" allegations against the Congress. Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa had come out in Amar Singh's support and had alleged that the Centre was tapping her phones too. In her statement Jayalalithaa said, that since now Amar Singh had furnished "solid proof" that the Centre was behind the phone tapping episode, an "immediate impartial inquiry" into the entire matter should be ordered. The Delhi Police, has on the other hand, arrested three persons in connection with telephone tapping controversy. The arrested persons are Bhupendra, the owner of a private detective agency, who was nabbed on December 30, Kuldeep Singh, an employee of the Reliance Infocomm, who had allegedly helped Bhupendra and an associate of Bhupendra. According to police, Bhupendra, the owner of 'Metro Intelligence' in South Extension was allegedly tapping Amar Sigh's phone on the basis of forged letters in the name of Delhi government's Home Secretary R Narayanswamy and Delhi Police's Joint Commissioner (Crime) Ranjit Narayan.

   Delhi Police had registered a case of forgery, cheating, criminal conspiracy and other relevant sections of the Indian Telegraph Act in connection with the allegations made by Mulayam Singh Yadav. Meanwhile, former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu yesterday also expressed suspicion that his telephone was being tapped for the last one year. He asked for a panel of chief ministers to probe the matter, including Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee (West Bengal), Nitish Kumar (Bihar) and J Jayalalithaa (Tamil Nadu). He said that as many opposition leaders were raising the matter, an impartial inquiry should be ordered to bring forth the facts and clear the air.

Amar Singh says he is not afraid of tapes being made public

     New Delhi: General Secretary of the Samajwadi Party, Amar Singh, at the centre of the phone tapping controversy, on Monday said that he was not afraid of the tape being made public. He however, said it was still to be proved that voices belonged to the parties concerned. "The issue is that why tapping was done? I am not afraid of it. If there are two voices in the tape, then both parties concerned should confirm that it is their voices. Only after confirmation, the tapped phones could be made public. In any case, audio of any cassette is not a conclusive evidence in a court," he said in a news conference in New Delhi, after moving the Supreme Court over the issue. Singh, who has been drumming up political support since he made the sensational charges, has met several leaders in this regard. Even as the phone-tapping row refuses to die down, former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Chandrababu Naidu, on Sunday chipped in, saying his phones were also bugged. Naidu, who joined the bandwagon, said he did not make the issue public as he was waiting for more proof. Venkaiah Naidu, leader of opposition BJP had said his former party Chief Lal Krishna Advani's phone was also tapped, even as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha made similar accusations. However, Advani denied any knowledge of his phone being tapped. "I was told that there are reports that when the Volcker report was made public, even my telephone was being tapped. But I have no knowledge about that. I will find it out, but I have no knowledge of this. The matter was earlier referred to the Supreme Court which has taken a strong note of the issue," he told reporters in New Delhi. Newly elected BJP President, Rajnath Singh condemned the whole incident and has asked the Centre to probe the matter. "All I want to say is that the Centre should probe the matter with full sincerity and honesty. Then the findings of the probe should be made public. The government should also ensure that in future, phone tapping does not take place without prior permission," he said. The Delhi police, under whose jurisdiction the so-called violation of privacy took place, have arrested the owner of a private detective agency and two of his associates in this regard.

Advani's phones too are being tapped, alleges BJP

     New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Prakash Javdekar today alleged that the phones of several senior leaders, including that of former party President LK Advani, were also being tapped. Demanding proper investigation into the matter, Javdekar said: "We have received information from different sources that some senior leaders' phones, including that of Advani, have been under surveillance at some point or the other".

   Meanwhile, Samajwadi party leader Amar Singh has filed a petition in the Supreme Court, seeking judicial enquiry into the telephone tapping case. He has made the Union Home Secretary, Reliance Infocom - the phone service provider and Delhi Police respondents in his petition. Singh also has named the Congress in his petition to the court. He accused the Congress President Sonia Gandhi of hatching a conspiracy against him and his Party. Amar Singh claimed that at least 60 tapes involving leaders of different political parties, including that of BJP and Congress, were in the possession of Sonia Gandhi and would expose those behind the entire operation. He also alleged that the entire phone-tapping plan was executed by AICC general secretary Ambika Soni, former aide of Sonia Gandhi Pulak Chaterjee, Principal Secretary (Home) Delhi Government R Narayanswami, the Journalist MP and several others associated with 10-Janpath. Singh also enlisted the support of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu, who have separately alleged that their telephones are also being tapped. Naidu yesterday said that his telephone was being tapped for the last one year. He asked for a panel of chief ministers to probe the matter, including Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee (West Bengal), Nitish Kumar (Bihar) and J Jayalalithaa (Tamil Nadu). The Delhi Police, has on the other hand, arrested three persons in connection with telephone tapping controversy.

    The arrested persons are Bhupendra, the owner of a private detective agency, who was nabbed on December 30, Kuldeep Singh, an employee of the Reliance Infocomm, who had allegedly helped Bhupendra and an associate of Bhupendra. According to police, Bhupendra, the owner of 'Metro Intelligence' in South Extension was allegedly tapping Amar Sigh's phone on the basis of forged letters in the name of Delhi government's Home Secretary R Narayanswamy and Delhi Police's Joint Commissioner (Crime) Ranjit Narayan. Delhi Police had registered a case of forgery, cheating, criminal conspiracy and other relevant sections of the Indian Telegraph Act in connection with the allegations made by Mulayam Singh Yadav.

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