Former Industries Minister and CPM MLA Elamaram Kareem has registered a complaint with Speaker G Karthikeyan against Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan for ‘misleading’ the State Assembly by stating that the phones of Opposition MLAs are not being tapped as suspected.
The complaint was lodged on the basis of the minister’s submission on the floor of the Assembly itself at the height of the allegations that the details of the inquiry cannot be divulged. Opposition Deputy leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has served a privilege notice against the Home Minister on the same issue.
Kareem pointed out in his complaint that he had raised the issue of phone tapping of the Opposition MLAs in the Assembly on a firm conviction and information that incoming and outgoing calls to his phones and a few others were under surveillance. The Home Minister had submitted that the department had not given any instruction on this score and assured that the complaint would be looked into.
“But after a couple of days, the minister made a volte face and in reply to an unstarred question raised by me, he maintained that since the details of tapping phones of MLAs were of a confidential nature, it could not be divulged,” Kareem said.
Kareem alleged that the government’s approach was to put the Opposition MLAs under pressure.
“No exigency has come up against me or any other members of the House, which is detrimental to the sovereignty or internal security of the country, warranting an examination of e-mails or phone numbers. Against this backdrop, immediate steps should be initiated to protect the dignity of the House and protect the rights of members,” Kareem urged the Speaker.
Comments
0 comment