Andhra Pradesh Congress President Y.S. Sharmila has credited Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy with exposing the state’s phone tapping scandal. Addressing the issue once again, Sharmila stated that the surveillance operations only came to light because of a change in government. “Had K. Chandrashekar Rao returned to power in the last election, the phone tapping episode would never have seen the light of day,” she said.
Sharmila further asserted that the Congress party has never engaged in such surveillance practices. Recalling her personal experience, she alleged that her phone had also been tapped in the past and that the audio was played back to her. “At the time, I was politically cornered. With Jagan Mohan Reddy in power in Andhra Pradesh and KCR ruling Telangana, I was in no position to take action,” she remarked. She added that the law enforcement apparatus was entirely controlled by the ruling parties, and even if she had fought against the phone tapping, no investigation would have taken place in either state.