Government alleged to be behind tapping calls of opposition leaders, Shinde denies the charge

NEW DELHI: Home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has said that attempts were made to access the call records of BJP leader Arun Jaitley but his phone was not tapped. Shinde’s statement in the Rajya Sabha came after NDA and members of SP, Left and BSP alleged that several political personalities were under government’s surveillance.

“The Delhi Police has made some arrests, as some persons sought to know call record data of Arun Jaitley,” Shinde said. Four people were arrested. “The government did not authorise anybody to intercept the telephone of the Leader of the Opposition,” Sushil Kumar Shinde said in a statement.

Rejecting the statement, BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu claimed there was suspicion about the government’s role. “How can such an activity take place without the knowledge of the government,” he asked. SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav wondered why a constable required the call data records of senior leaders. "Who is behind it,” he asked Shinde said the government would consider the suggestion of the SP member that it should be made mandatory to seek the permission of the Rajya Sabha chairman before CDRs of any member is obtained and promised to write to the telephone department in this regard.

Opposition members persisted with the allegation that the government was behind ‘surveillance.’