Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Nov 14: Amid the raging political storm, the Congress overseas leader Sam Pitroda virtually refuted the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi’s charge that Prime Minister Narendra Modi taps his phone, even while accepting that his own phone and other digital devices were also being tapped but did not say whom he suspected of ding it.
Mr Pitroda, who is lately in the news these days over his very warm exchange of festive wishes with the Prime Minister, was emphatic that PM Modi did not do it. Distancing himself from Rahul Gandhi’s allegation, Pitroda said he doesn’t believe the PM does it.
“PM doesn’t do that. PM doesn’t take a screwdriver and get on a computer,” Pitroda said. He, however, added that he has good reason to believe that his phone was also being tapped. “My phone is tapped, my laptop is attacked, my bank accounts are under surveillance. I have consulted experts and they have, after examining my devices, cautioned me about tapping,” Pitroda said, refusing to name who he believed tapped his phone.
“Somebody is doing that. I don’t know and I don’t care. I live with it. I have no issue,” Pitroda added. “There are nasty people around. What do you do?”
The remarks came after Rahul Gandhi on Friday levelled serious allegations of him being under surveillance by the Central government, alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is having his phone tapped, while once again calling for the Prime Minister to agree to an open debate against him.
“The Prime Minister is aware of this because he taps my phone. The day he agrees to a face-to-face debate, everyone will learn who is under the control of foreign powers, who is anti-national, and how long they have been involved in anti-national activities,” Rahul Gandhi said in a video posted by Congress on X.
Gandhi has claimed that the proof of PM Modi being under the control of “foreign powers” is already on his phone, and as such, the PM already knows what the proof is. While a number of Opposition leaders have backed Rahul Gandhi’s phone-tapping charge, the BJP has rubbished it, calling it a “shoot and scoot” policy to “stay relevant.”
BJP leader and former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said Rahul Gandhi needs to get his head examined. “Rahul Gandhi, I can only safely say to him, with all respect, must get his head examined. Nobody is bothered tapping his phone. Nobody is interested in tapping his phone. If anybody is interested, it’s to understand why his brain only functions on lies day after day,” he said.