Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], November 13 (ANI): Telangana Transport and Backwards Classes (BC) Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar on Friday hit out at the central government following Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's allegation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was getting his phone tapped, asserting that the people will one day ensure the Centre listens to their voices rather than merely imposing 'Mann Ki Baat' upon them.
Reacting to the political row in Hyderabad, Prabhakar accused the Centre of attempting to silence the opposition and undermining democratic institutions.
"The fundamental purpose of governance is to protect democracy and strive to resolve the problems faced by the people. But what are you doing instead? You are suppressing the opposition, breaking apart political parties, toppling state governments, and attempting to rule through authoritarianism—but none of this will work. One day, the people will ensure that you listen to their voices, rather than merely imposing your own Mann Ki Baat upon them", he said.
His remarks came after Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi earlier in the day accused Prime Minister Modi of tapping his phone, claiming that his device contained evidence regarding alleged foreign influence and anti-national activities.
Telangana Government Advisor and senior Congress leader Mohammed Ali Shabbir on Friday backed Rahul Gandhi over his allegation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is tapping his phone, claiming that the devices of several other leaders are also under surveillance.
Reacting to the allegation, Shabbir said the Congress party had long suspected such actions by the central government.
"We were always sure that this government would tap Rahul Gandhi's phone. Phones of many other leaders are also being tapped", he said.
Earlier, backing Gandhi's allegation that PM Modi was having his phone tapped, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday said phones and modern technology could not be trusted in the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Yadav also alleged large-scale manipulation of voter lists, claiming that 1.27 crore names had been removed from electoral rolls and that votes belonging to the SP were being deleted. "One should not trust today's technology. In the age of AI, anything is possible," Yadav said, referring to Gandhi's allegation. He added that a leader who was no longer alive had once spoken about their phones being tapped.
His remarks come after Gandhi on Friday alleged that Prime Minister Modi was having his phone tapped and once again challenged him to agree to an open, face-to-face debate.
"The Prime Minister is aware of this because he has my phone tapped. The day he agrees to a face-to-face debate, everyone will learn who is under the control of foreign powers, who is anti-national, and how long they have been involved in anti-national activities," Gandhi said in a video posted by the Congress on X.
Gandhi also claimed that proof of the PM being under the control of "foreign powers" was already available on his phone, adding that Modi was aware of the evidence. (ANI)
"People will make you listen to their voices, not Mann Ki Baat": Telangana Minister Ponnam Prabhakar hits out at Centre
