My phone too was tapped when Jagan and KCR were at the helm, alleges APCC chief Sharmila

APCC president Y.S. Sharmila. File
| Photo Credit: K.V.S. GIRI

Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Y.S. Sharmila on Wednesday alleged that her telephone had been tapped during the tenure of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and his Telangana counterpart K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR).

Addressing the media at the airport in Visakhapatnam, Ms. Sharmila said it might be a joint operation, or information sharing between the two leaders.

“I don’t know how many phones have been tapped. But I know for certain that my phone and that of my husband, and those of several close associates have been under surveillance during that period,” she alleged.

Ms. Sharmila further said that senior YSRCP leader Y.V. Subba Reddy had confirmed it when he visited her residence in Hyderabad. Mr. Subba Reddy played the recorded conversation, which had been obtained through phone tapping, the Congress leader said.

“I cannot say whether Mr. Subba Reddy will admit it now, because Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy has put pressure on him and former YSRCP leader V. Vijaya Sai Reddy,” she said.

“Despite being his sister, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy has attempted to suppress me politically and financially. He has stepped up surveillance and threatened those who supported me,” she said.

I did not make the issue public as it paled in comparison with the atrocities committed during their leadership (Mr. Jagan and Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao), she said.

“I appeal to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and his Telangana counterpart A. Revanth Reddy to probe the phone tapping issue,” she said.