Telangana Snoopgate: The SIT opens a Pandora’s Box

The day after the Congress was declared victorious in the December 2023 Assembly elections in Telangana — ending the 10-year rule of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) — there was unusual activity at the Special Intelligence Branch (SIB) of the state police in Hyderabad. For over an hour, all CCTV cameras were switched off and more than 60 hard disks, containing sensitive information on phone tapping, were destroyed and thrown into a river.

This startling revelation by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) exposes the scale of the snooping operation orchestrated during the BRS regime. Over 620 phones belonging to over 6,500 people — political rivals and their families, party dissidents, journalists, businessmen, celebrities and even judges — were tapped between 2018 and 2023.

Those being spied upon included the then state Congress president A. Revanth Reddy, his key supporters, members of the BJP and Congress, as well as some leaders from the ruling BRS, including former chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao’s daughter and MLC K. Kavitha and her family. Over one lakh phone calls were reportedly tapped, through the extensive use of special leased lines and dedicated computer systems by a Special Operations Team.

The latest of the high-profile witnesses queuing up to depose before the SIT is Union minister of state for home affairs and former BJP state president Bandi Sanjay Kumar. Congress chief B. Mahesh Kumar Goud also deposed as a witness.

Former SIB chief T. Prabhakar Rao, the main accused in the case who left for the United States soon after the change of guard in the state, was compelled to return to Hyderabad following a Supreme Court directive. However, while subordinates who executed his instructions have been spilling the beans, Rao has stayed mum.

Rao — who set up a team of trusted aides within the SIB to carry out the surveillance — claims he was acting under orders from “higher officials”, though no direct evidence has yet been produced.

Bolstered by witness testimonies, the SIT probe is also looking at financial irregularities, such as cash transactions during elections.

Among the four senior police officers who have already been arrested are former deputy commissioner of police P. Radhakishan Rao (who had also served as chief security officer to KCR), additional superintendents of police Bhujanga Rao and Thirupathanna, and deputy SP Praneeth Rao. They all admitted to monitoring private individuals illegally and destroying evidence.

Under Section 5(2) of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, tapping phone calls requires prior approval from the ministry of home affairs (MHA). It is permitted only in exceptional cases, such as a suspected threat to national security or public order.

A 2013 report by the parliamentary standing committee on home affairs — set up following a complaint by late BJP leader Arun Jaitley, stated that surveillance of elected representatives requires prior approval from either the Lok Sabha Speaker or the relevant legislative assembly Speaker. The BRS clearly had no qualms about ignoring these protocols.

A saffron hue-and-cry over the Backward Classes quota

The BJP is back to doing what it does best: communal politics. This time over the proposed enhancement of reservations for Backward Classes in Telangana. “The Congress had promised 42 per cent reservations for Backward Classes in its election manifesto. But now, under the guise of a ‘Backward Classes Bill’, 10 per cent of that is being diverted to Muslims, and only 32 per cent will actually go to Backward Classes,” said BJP leader Bandi Sanjay Kumar.

His claim is astonishing because there is no mention of a quota for Muslims in the proposed legislation. The basis of the bill was the Socio, Economic, Education, Employment, Political and Caste (SEEEPC) Survey 2024, according to which Backward Classes — including those belonging to the Muslim community — account for 56.33 per cent of the total enumerated population. Hindu Backward Classes account for 46.25 per cent, while Muslims stand at 10 per cent.

The state Assembly had passed the Bill in March 2025, seeking to increase the quota for Backward Classes in jobs and educational institutions from 23 per cent to 42 per cent. Governor Jishnu Dev Varma has since referred the bill to the President, with the Congress government mounting pressure for presidential assent.

The BJP has been opposing the inclusion of Muslim Backwards in the overall Backward Classes quota, accusing the Congress of a conspiracy to provide reservations to Muslims in order to reduce benefits for Hindus.

The quota hike is expected to face a legal challenge as its implementation would breach the 50 per cent cap set by the Supreme Court. To do so, the state’s bills would have to be included in the 9th Schedule of the Constitution, as was done in Tamil Nadu, where the reservation ceiling has been increased to 69 per cent.

“The Central government is already implementing 27 per cent reservations for Backward Classes. The Congress’s so-called ‘BC bill’ gives only 5 per cent additional reservation to Backward Classes, while using it as a cover to grant 10 per cent to Muslims,” said Sanjay Kumar.

“The BJP has always opposed Muslim reservations. We demand full 42 per cent reservations exclusively for Backward Classes; otherwise, we will block the bill at all costs. If this poisonous tree is not uprooted in Telangana, it will spread across the country... Our stand is clear. Religion-based reservations go against the spirit of the Constitution,” he added.

Irony, anyone?