Kirodi Lal Meena. File Photo
Rajasthan Cabinet Minister Kirodi Lal Meena said on Wednesday that he had replied to a show cause notice issued by the ruling BJP after making an allegation recently that he was under government surveillance and that his phone was being tapped. Mr. Meena’s charge caused a commotion in the State Assembly last week.
Admitting that he had made a “mistake,” Mr. Meena did not disclose the contents of his response. “I have submitted my reply for the mistake I made. The mistake is mentioned in the notice given by the party’s State president,” Mr. Meena told journalists here.
Mr. Meena, whose resignation from the State Cabinet tendered in June 2024 is yet to be accepted, said disciplinary action over his allegation was an internal matter of the BJP. “It is not for me or any minister or even the Chief Minister to speak on the matter. Only the party’s president will deal with it,” he said.
Breach of privacy
The February 10 notice, signed by BJP State president Madan Rathore, stated that Mr. Meena’s allegations made at a public event were “patently false” and had tarnished the image of the State government. Terming it an act of indiscipline, the party asked Mr. Meena to give an explanation within three days.
Meanwhile, senior Congress leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot demanded a statement from the BJP government on the floor of the State Assembly. “A senior Cabinet Minister has accused his own government of phone tapping. This is tantamount to a serious breach of one’s privacy. No government can do that,” Mr. Pilot said at a press conference here on Wednesday.
The Congress raised the issue in the Assembly during the ongoing budget session, causing embarrassment to the BJP government, and demanded Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma’s resignation. Leader of Opposition Tika Ram Jully did not give a speech during the debate on the Governor’s address as a mark of protest.
Published – February 13, 2025 02:30 am IST
