Allegations of surveillance on Opposition legislators flew thick and fast in Rajasthan Saturday, as state Congress leaders accused Speaker Vasudev Devnani of “installing extra cameras and misusing them to watch Congress women MLAs”.
Addressing a press briefing at the state Congress headquarters Saturday, Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasara said: “He wants to see what attire they are wearing, in what condition they are sitting, and what they are talking about. While we focus on leadership and political issues, the Speaker’s attention is mainly on women,” he alleged.
He alleged that Devnani “has had cameras installed to monitor Opposition voices even after the House is adjourned”.
“Our women MLAs will soon hold a press conference and ask why they are being spied on. The government wants to keep a tab on Opposition leaders and listen in on our conversations. This spying is being done at the behest of the Modi government, the CM, and the RSS,” he alleged, accusing the Speaker of “erasing evidence of espionage”.
“Now, wires from the cameras are being removed to destroy proof. They are frustrated and trying to suppress our voices. Their countdown has begun. The Assembly cannot be run with these cameras,” Dotasara alleged.
Earlier, Leader of Opposition Tika Ram Jully had alleged that “the tender for upgrading cameras is still underway – the technical bid opening date was in August – and there is still a few months’ time for their installation. So, the question arises what are these two cameras which he has already upgraded? How can two cameras be upgraded already when the overall upgradation work is yet to begin?”
Devnani, however, had denied the allegations saying that when the cameras “cover 360-degrees”, there is no question of violation of any single person’s privacy. He claimed that the Opposition’s allegations were “technically and logically unsound”.
