DK Shivakumar, Ramalinga Reddy: Modi govt scared of Congress Lingayat leader Patil

Bengaluru: Lambasting the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre for allegedly tapping the phone of Water Resources Minister, M B Patil, Ministers Ramalinga Reddy and D K Shivakumar claimed on Tuesday that it was acting out of fear over his emergence as a Lingayat leader along with Minister Vinay Kulakarni.

Speaking to reporters before going to a meeting with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Mr Reddy said while he had not received any formal complaint yet from Mr Patil, he had promised to produce documents to prove that his telephone was being tapped.

“Ever since the demand for a separate religious status for Lingayats has grown, Mr Patil and Mr Kulakarni have emerged as Lingayat leaders, threatening the Bharatiya Janata Party’s hold over the community. The fact that Lingayats are now leaning towards the Congress could be the reason why their telephones are being tapped now. If I get a formal complaint, I can get have it investigated,” Mr Reddy said.

Asked if the telephones of other Congress leaders from the state were also being tapped, he replied in the negative.

“I know that my telephone is not being tapped. There’s no use in tapping it,'' he added.

Meanwhile, Mr Shivakumar noted that telephone tapping was not new. “I don't want to say who is doing it and why , but it is happening,” the Energy Minister asserted.

As for the income tax raids against him, he shrugged them off saying such things had become the order of the day for him. “I have been targeted ever since I entered politics and I know how to handle it,” he maintained.