Bharat Rashra Samithi leaders are seething with anger over Hyderabad police commissioner V C Sajjannar describing party president and former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao as “Gajwel MLA.”
In his tweet on social media platform X, Sajjannar said: “The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has concluded the questioning of Gajwel MLA and former Chief Minister Sri. K. Chandrashekar Rao in connection with the illegal phone-tapping case.”
The BRS leaders have been trolling Sajjannar for calling KCR as Gajwel MLA, describing it as an act of arrogance and disrespect of the Telangana patriarch.
Though Hyderabad police commissioner also referred to him as former chief minister, they have taken objection to the former calling KCR as an MLA.
Senior BRS leader and former minister T Harish Rao also reacted angrily to Sajjannar’s reference to KCR as Gajwel MLA.
“The people of Telangana wanted to know why SIT chief doesn’t want to recognise KCR garu as Honourable Leader of Opposition??” he asked.
He also took exception to Sajjannar calling the ongoing phone tapping case as “illegal.”
“How a SIT chief @SajjanarVC can officially refer to the issue of phone tapping as “illegal” even before the matter has been examined and decided by a competent court of law?” he asked.
Harish Rao said such a statement is not only legally unsustainable but also deeply disturbing coming from SIT chief.
In a constitutional democracy, it is a settled principle of law that until a court of law records a finding, no allegation can be treated as an offence.
“The police are entrusted only with the task of investigation; they are neither judges nor adjudicators to declare any act as illegal at the stage of enquiry. Whether any phone interception was legal or illegal depends upon strict compliance with Section 5(2) of the Indian Telegraph Act, the Information Technology Act, and the safeguards laid down by the Supreme Court,” he said.
By using the expression “illegal phone tapping” in an official message, the SIT chief has displayed a preconceived notion about the outcome of the investigation.
This conduct is unbecoming of the office he holds and is contrary to the standards of neutrality and restraint, he added.