"Join Congress, INDIA bloc if you want to safeguard democracy.." says Telangana's IT Minister

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], March 30 (ANI): Telangana IT Minister, Sridhar Babu Duddilla, has in a fervent plea appealed to people of the state to support the Congress and the INDIA bloc if they want to safeguard democracy.
"All the people of Telangana, if they want to safeguard this democracy, please join and support us, the Congress, and the India bloc. This is the appeal we are putting before the people of Telangana. We are hopeful that it will be a huge gathering, which no one can even expect," Babu Duddilla said.
On being asked about the leaders joining the gathering, he said, " I am not the correct person to talk about this until and unless AICC conveys."
Congress, he said, will stage a nationwide protest today against notices from the income-tax department, asking it to pay Rs 1,823 crore.
On Friday, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal instructed, all state units to stage demonstrations at PCC and district Congress Committee headquarters on Saturday.
"Eight years of Income Tax returns of the INC have been reopened on baseless, manufactured grounds to levy patently illegal Income Tax demand orders totaling thousands of crores of rupees. This is nothing but a blatant and naked attack on the very principles of democracy," Venugopal said in a letter addressed to party workers on Friday.
Accusing the Income Tax Department of double-standards, Congress alleged on March 30, that while it has been penalised for "a violation of Rs 14 lakh," the income tax authorities were completely silent on "Rs 42 crore violation" by the BJP and that the violations by the ruling party at the Centre entailed a penalty of Rs 4,600 crore.
Addressing a press conference, Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Ajay Maken said there was an attempt to stifle the party financially during the Lok Sabha polls.
On the phone tapping case, Telangana IT Minister Sridhar Babu Duddilla says, "It is absolutely gross and unconstitutional. It is violating the basic rights of the citizens of Telangana. The way they did it, (shows) how they would like to threaten the opposition. In fact, their politicians, actors, and their own people also showed how insecure they were."
Responding to the 'phone tapping' remarks made by BRS leader KT Rama Rao Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Friday warned that anyone who was involved in the phone tapping under the previous government will be sent to jail.
"Earlier, the government scared the people who voted for them by putting cases on them and phone tapping. 'KTR is saying that they tapped a few calls, so what?' Can anyone speaks like that? If you tap phones, you will go to Cherlapalli jail. The officers who listened to them are in jail. We already said that they are evil doers, thieves, and if you listen to them, you will go to jail. KTR is speaking like an unbridled bull. They will pay for it, but the case is under investigation," Chief Minister Revanth Reddy said.
BRS working president KT Rama Rao had earlier claimed that "phone-tapping', if it had happened, could have been limited to a couple of people".
Hyderabad Police on March 29 said that it is to further inform the public that the investigation in Cr No 243/2024 of Panjagutta PS is under progress and another person involved in the commission of the crimes reported in the said case has been arrested by the Investigation Officer of the case today.
After Former SIB DSP Praneeth Rao, Adnl. SP's, Bhujanga Rao, and Thirupathanna were arrested in the phone tapping case. Now SIT, after grilling former Task Force DCP Radhakishan Rao for over 10 hours, has arrested him.
The details of the arrested person are: Mr. P. Radha Kishan Rao, Rtd SP and formerly DCP/OSD of Task Force, Hyderabad City Police.
The phone-tapping case revolves around allegations of widespread phone tapping of political leaders, including Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, during the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government led by K Chandrashekar Rao.
Earlier, the Congress released its eighth list of candidates for Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Jharkhand.
In Telangana, Athram Suguna has been fielded from Adilabad, Tatiparthi Jeevan Reddy to contest from Nizamad, Neelam Madhu from Medak, and Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy will contest from Bhongir.
Voting across all 17 seats in Telangana will be conducted in a single phase on May 13.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the BRS won nine of 17 seats, while the BJP and Congress bagged four and three seats, respectively.
The election for 543 Lok Sabha seats in the country will be held in seven phases, starting on April 19 and ending on June 1. The results will be declared on June 4. Nearly 97 crore voters are eligible to cast a vote in the general election. (ANI)