NEW DELHI/LUCKNOW, 31 December 2005 — Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav yesterday alleged that the federal government was tapping the phones of his party General Secretary Amar Singh on instructions from Congress party President Sonia Gandhi but Delhi Police denied the charges.
Making the stunning allegation at a press conference in Lucknow, Mulayam, who is also Samajwadi Party chief, said he had sufficient proof to establish his charge.
He said Amar Singh had spoken to Delhi Police Commissioner K.K. Paul, who had reportedly confirmed that the phones were being tapped. But Paul said in New Delhi that this was not so. “We did not receive any such order from the Home Ministry and none of our officers were involved in it,” Paul said.
Mulayam, however, said the union home secretary had issued formal orders for tapping Amar Singh’s telephones and termed the incident as an “attack on the privacy of an individual.”
“Apparently, the idea was to tap conversations between Amar Singh and me,” he said.
He also claimed that Paul had confirmed the phone tapping to Amar Singh after initially denying any knowledge of the incident.
“Amar Singh spoke to Paul, who initially told him that he was not aware of (it). Later, the same evening, he confirmed to Amar Singh that his phones were indeed being tapped.
“I am convinced that both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister Shivraj Patil were unaware of the unconstitutional act that is being done at the behest of 10 Janpath (Sonia’s residence),” Mulayam said.
Paul said police had received a copy of the letter (formal order), from the telephone service provider, which Mulayam had alleged was issued to Delhi Police.
‘The letter is forged and we have registered a case of forgery, cheating and criminal conspiracy against unidentified people,” the Delhi Police chief said.
