Jaipur: For the second time in less than five years, the Rajasthan assembly witnessed massive uproar over alleged phone tapping of public representatives.
In 2021, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – then in the opposition – had cornered the then Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government over illegal tapping of telephones.
In an ironic role reversal four years later, the Congress on February 7 slammed the BJP over allegations of phone tapping made by Kirodi Lal Meena, one of the senior most leaders of the saffron party in the state.
“Just like during the tenure of the last government, CID is everywhere, my telephone is also recorded…But I don’t do anything wrong and that’s why I don’t get afraid or bend down or break,” Meena, 73, was heard saying in an undated video that went viral on social media.
While Meena has remained silent since the video surfaced, the fact that a leader of his stature has put his own party’s government on the dock with his allegations has led to the Congress launching a scathing attack on the Bhajan Lal Sharma-led BJP government.
Meena’s outburst also marks a rare instance where a senior BJP leader has spoken up against the party, which, in recent years, has sidelined several veteran leaders both at the national and state level and appointed lesser-known faces as chief ministers.
But those familiar with the Meena’s politics – the tallest tribal leader of the BJP in Rajasthan, multiple-time MP and MLA who won elections as a BJP leader, as an independent and by contesting from the National People’s Party (NPP) – would know that he is unlikely to fade away without a fight.
A street fighter ‘sidelined’ by the BJP
One of the most active leaders of the saffron party in the state, known as a ‘street fighter’ for his knack of spearheading protests and dharnas, Meena is among the last leaders of the Rajasthan BJP cadre with spunk and the ability to attract a large support base that transcends regions.
Ever since the BJP came to power after defeating the Congress in December 2023, discontent has been brewing among Meena’s supporters, with many rueing the fact that the senior leader has been sidelined.
In July last year, Meena, who was a minister for agriculture, horticulture and rural development in the Rajasthan government, said that he had resigned from the cabinet. For the next several months, confusion remained about his ministerial status and whether his resignation had been accepted by chief minister Sharma.
Prior to his resignation, Meena was an oddity in the Rajasthan cabinet, where, barring a handful, most members were first-time ministers and neither of them nearly as influential as him.
When the BJP gave a ticket to Meena’s brother Jagmohan for the by-election held in the Dausa constituency in November last year, it was seen as an effort from the party to pacify the sulking leader.
Despite Dausa being the stronghold of Meena, who had previously won the parliamentary elections from the seat as an independent, Jagmohan lost to Congress’s Deen Dayal Bairwa by a margin of 2,300 votes.
Soon after the results, Meena said in a post on X that he is saddened at the defeat of his brother and alleged that Jagmohan lost because of some “Jaichands (traitors)”, hinting that his brother was outdone by other factions within the BJP.
A month later, just ahead of the Rising Rajasthan Investment Summit, Meena claimed in December that an “intelligence report” stated he would disrupt the summit. Meena had termed the incident “shameful” and asserted that he could never do something like this after being a dedicated party worker for many decades.
Meena’s protests against issues such as question paper leaks has been a constant during both Congress and BJP regimes, establishing him as a parallel force who, at times, can question his own government.
‘Mr. Chief Minister, it seems you don’t believe in democracy’
Meena’s latest claims that his phone is being tapped has given the opposition to a chance to corner the saffron party.
On February 7, the Rajasthan assembly erupted in chaos, with the opposition Congress wearing black bands, raising slogans and demanding Sharma’s resignation.
Meena himself was absent from the budget session of the assembly after seeking exemption on grounds of health.
“Chief Minister, this is true that till yesterday we were thinking of you as a bhola aadmi (simple man) but we got to know today that you have an interest in spying and phone tapping. If this is your attitude towards your own cabinet minister, then what will happen to common citizens who disagree with you? It seems you don’t have trust in democracy,” said Rajasthan Leader of Opposition Tikaram Jully.
Four years ago, in March 2021, the BJP had held massive protests alleging that phones of MLAs and MPs were tapped by the then Congress government during the 2020 political crisis in the state following the tussle between former chief minister Ashok Gehlot and Congress leader Sachin Pilot.
Now, the same allegations of phone tapping and snooping on its own ministers have turned the heat on the ruling BJP.
The BJP has denied the allegations and instead reminded people of the allegations of phone tapping during the previous regime.
“Without any evidence, they (Congress) tried to disrupt the assembly without giving any prior notice. MoS state Jawahar Singh Bedham has already clarified that no phone tapping of Kirodi Lal Meena ever took place. Our former chief minister Ashok Gehlot tapped phones during his tenure. Case was registered against him and his OSD has said after becoming a witness of the state that phone tapping took place. The Congress should not have disrupted the assembly proceedings by bringing such baseless allegations,” Rajasthan parliamentary affairs minister Jogaram Patel told reporters on Monday.
BJP issues show cause notice to Meena, says he ‘tarnished’ image of party
Later on Monday, Rajasthan BJP president Madan Rathore issued a show cause notice to Meena and sought a clarification from him within three days.
In the show cause notice sent to Meena, it has been said that by sharing the information about his resignation for the purpose of publication in the media and saying that his phone was being tapped by the BJP government, he has tarnished the government’s image.
The show cause notice also terms the phone tapping allegations as “untrue”.
It says that Meena’s aforementioned acts fall in the category of indiscipline and the notice was being sent to him on the directions of the national president of the BJP.
If Meena does not send his clarification for the allegations mentioned in the notice within three days, it will be deemed that he does not have anything to clarify about it, it said.
Meena said in a statement that he had no knowledge of the show cause notice.
“I am a disciplined soldier of the party. As soon as the notice is received, reply will be sent to the party within the decided time frame,” said Meena in the statement.
Rajasthan leader of opposition Jully too cited the BJP’s show cause notice to Meena and said that as long as the chief minister does not speak on the issue in the assembly, the opposition would not let the House function.
“Ever since the allegations of [a] gravel scam, [the] BJP is after Kirodi Meena ji, that is why his phone is being tapped so that the government can find out who is passing on the secrets to him,” Jully posted on X.
This article was updated at 11:00 pm to add details of the show cause notice sent to Meena.
