Cong rejects Mulayam's charge of phone tapping

The battle for Uttar Pradesh was brought to Delhi today. UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, who is also the Samajwadi Party chief, accused Congress President Sonia Gandhi of ordering the tapping of senior SP leaders' telephones "as part of the effort to topple his government". The Congress reacted sharply in rejecting the charge.

"The phones of senior party leaders, including Amar Singh, are being tapped at the behest of 10, Janpath," Yadav said in Lucknow.

But the Congress rejected Yadav's charge as "baseless and unwarranted" allegation. "It has become a habit of Yadav and his alter-ego Amar Singh to make such dramatic statements and drag the Congress and its president into controversies to extract cheap publicity," Congress spokesman Anand Sharma said.

Sharma said the "unwarranted" allegations showed Yadav's "desperation" as his party was "fast losing" popular support. It was in the dock for increasing criminalisation in politics and administration of the state, patronised as such by the leadership of the Samajwadi Party, he said.

Yadav alleged that Amar Singh's phone was linked to the phone of the joint commissioner (crime), north zone, Delhi, and the conversation among senior leaders was being taped regularly.

While absolving Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee of any role in the phone-tapping, Yadav said the "conspiracy" was hatched at 10, Janpath to "tape the conversations among our senior leaders and subsequently release them to the media in January."

Yadav alleged that Amar Singh's phone was linked to the phone of the joint commissioner (crime), north zone, Delhi, and the conversation among senior leaders was being taped regularly. He alleged that orders to this effect had been given by the principal secretary (home) and this had also been confirmed by Delhi Police Commissioner KK Paul.

The chief minister said he had already contacted the prime minister, home minister and defence minister over this issue. Patil had informed him that it was a forged letter and assured him that the matter would be investigated.