A senior Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader has accused the police in Andhra Pradesh of unauthorised phone tapping in a complaint to the Election Commission of India. Kanakamedala Ravindra Kumar, a former MP, alleged the tappings were carried out at the behest of the state government in view of the upcoming elections.
Nara Lokesh, son of former chief minister Chandrababu Naidu, had received alerts on his iPhone “informing that his phones are tapped using Pegasus software by unknown agencies”, Mr Kumar said in his complaint. He had received similar alerts in March 2024, he added.
“Time and again, we represented that the present DGP Sri Rajendranath Reddy and Intelligence chief Mr. PSR Anjaneyulu have become lackeys of the YSRCP and are resorting to unethical and unlawful acts to jeopardise the prospects of NDA alliance partners in the ensuing elections to Assembly of AP and House of People,” read the complaint.
In his complaint, Mr Kumar also urged the ECI to take action against the officers and appoint neutral and reputable officers in their posts.
Elections to 175 assembly seats and 25 Lok Sabha seats will be held during the first phase on April 19. The main opposition party in the state, TDP, has tied up with the BJP and actor Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena ahead of the elections.
