The day the Congress was declared victorious in the assembly elections in Telangana in December 2023-the Indian Committee (BRS) had an unusual activity in the State Police’s Special Intelligence Branch (SIB) in Hyderabad, ending the 10-year rule of the President Committee (BRS). For more than an hour, all CCTV cameras were closed and over 60 hard disks, which had sensitive information on phone tapping, was destroyed and thrown into a river.

This shocking revelation by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) highlights the scale of the snuping operation during the BRS regime. More than 620 phones belonging to more than 6,500 people – political rivals and their families, party dissidents, journalists, businessmen, celebrities and even judges were tapped between 2018 and 2023.

The then State Congress President A. Revanth Reddy, his prominent supporters, members of BJP and Congress, as well as some leaders of the ruling BRS are of the former Chief Minister. Chandrashekhar Rao’s daughter and MLC. Kavita and her families are included. More than one lakh phone calls were allegedly tapped through a special lease lines and comprehensive use of the dedicated computer system by a special operation team.

The Union Minister of State and former BJP President of BJP is Sanjay Kumar to queue up before the latest sites of high-profile witnesses. Congress chief B. Mahesh Kumar Gaud also promoted 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 guards in the state, was forced to return to Hyderabad following a Supreme Court directive. However, while the subordinates who carried out their instructions have spread the legumes, Rao has been on Mam.

Rao – who established a team of reliable colleagues within SIB to meet the surveillance – claimed that they were working under the orders of “high officials”, although no direct evidence has been given yet.

Surrounded by witnesses testimony, sit investigation is also looking at financial irregularities, such as cash transactions during elections.

Among four senior police officers, who have already been arrested, former Deputy Commissioner of Police P. Radhakishan Rao (who also worked as Chief Security Officer for KCR), Police Bhujanga Rao and Additional Superintendent of Thirupathan, and Deputy SP Praneth Rao. They all accepted all illegally monitoring private individuals and destroying evidence.

Under Section 5 (2) of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, pre -approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is required to exploit the phone calls. This is allowed only in extraordinary cases, such as a suspicious threat to national security or public order.

A 2013 report by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs – Following the complaint of late BJP leader Arun Jaitley, said that monitoring of elected representatives requires prior approval from Lok Sabha speaker or relevant Legislative Assembly Speaker. BRS clearly had no qualifications about ignoring these protocols clearly.

Backward classes a saffron hue-end-cross on quota

The BJP is back to return to which it is best: communal politics. This time on the proposed increase of reservation for backward classes in Telangana. “The Congress promised 42 percent reservation for backward classes in its election manifesto. But now, under the guise of a ‘backward classes bill’, 10 percent is being turned to Muslims, and only 32 percent will actually go to backward classes,” BJP leader Bundi Sanjay Kumar said.

His claim is amazing because there is no mention of quota for Muslims in the proposed law. The basis of the bill was social, economic, education, employment, political and caste (SeeEEPC) survey 2024, according to which backward classes – which belong to the Muslim community – is 56.33 percent of the total calculated population. Hindu backward classes have 46.25 percent, while Muslims are 10 percent.

The state assembly passed a bill in March 2025, demanding to increase quota for backward classes in jobs and educational institutions. Governor Jishanu Dev Verma has since mentioned the bill to the President, in which the Congress government has increased pressure for the presidency.

The BJP is opposing the inclusion of Muslims backwards in the quota of the overall backward classes, accusing the Congress of providing reservation to Muslims to reduce profit for Hindus.

Kota Hike is expected to face a legal challenge as its implementation will dissolve the 50 percent cap fixed by the Supreme Court. To do this, state bills have to be included in the 9th schedule of the Constitution, as was done in Tamil Nadu, where the reservation limit has increased to 69 percent.

Sanjay Kumar said, “The central government is already implementing 27 percent reservation for backward classes. The so -called ‘BC Bill’ of the Congress gave only 5 percent additional reservation to backward classes, while it was used as a cover for 10 percent to Muslims.”

“BJP has always opposed Muslim reservations. We demand a special 42 percent reservation 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 … it will spread all over the country … it is clear. It is clear. Dharma-based reservation moves against the constitution,” he said.

Ironically, anyone?