JAIPUR: Rajasthan Minister of State for Home Affairs Jawahar Singh Bedham on Thursday claimed in the Assembly that the state government has not intercepted the phone of Agriculture Minister Kirori Lal Meena while Meena himself has publicly denied the allegations.
“There has been no phone tapping. Kirodi Lal Meena’s phone has also not been tapped. No individual’s phone was tapped in the state, ” said the minister during his Assembly address while responding to Minister Kirodi Lal Meena’s allegations.
Clarifying the legal provisions, the minister said that phone interceptions are permitted only for critical purposes such as state security, maintaining public order, and crime prevention under the Telecommunications Act.
“The current state government strictly adheres to these regulations, ” the minister further claimed.
Bedham informed the House that the Additional Chief Secretary of the Home Department is the competent authority for approving any telephone interception in the state.
“Such requests can only be initiated based on proposals from authorised police officers and must meet strict criteria before approval. To ensure accountability, a review committee has been constituted, chaired by the Chief Secretary. The committee also includes the Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) and the Principal Secretary (Law and Legal Affairs). As per regulations, this committee is required to meet every two months to review interception orders, ” the minister said.
However, the minister’s comments created a ruckus in the Assembly with the opposition walking out of the session.
Rajasthan Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Tika Ram Jully asked the Home Minister about the government's response to Kirodi Lal Meena’s phone-tapping allegations.
“If the phones were not tapped, what action would be taken against Kirodi Lal Meena for his allegations? Why doesn’t the government accept his resignation?” the LoP said.
As the debate intensified inside the Assembly, Forest Minister Sanjay Sharma waved a poster inside the House, sparking further outrage. Jully strongly objected to it and questioned the legality of such an action.
However, after a brief ruckus, normal proceedings resumed in the Assembly.
LoP Tika Ram Jully added that had the state Home Minister provided the clarification earlier, the matter would have been resolved.
Earlier, Congress had threatened to disrupt Assembly proceedings unless the government addressed the phone-tapping allegations.
Ahead of the budget session, the Speaker convened an all-party meeting, where it was decided that the government would respond on February 20 during zero-hour.
Following the negotiations, Congress allowed the budget speech to proceed without disruptions. However, despite multiple statements by the state Home Minister outside the Assembly, no formal response was given in the House until Thursday which prompted Congress to protest.
Earlier, Kirodi Lal Meena was issued a notice by BJP state chief Madan Rathore regarding the phone-tapping allegations.
On February 12, Kirodi had also sent a reply in this matter to the party chief.
“I have made a mistake and I have accepted it in the reply to the notice. I will not inform you what I wrote in reply. I have no resentment with the party, ” Meena told media persons.