‘HD Kumaraswamy, the spy who listened in’

Mysuru: Former CM H.D. Kumaraswamy’s erstwhile comrade-in-arms and disqualified Hunsur MLA A.H. Vishwanath (pic) is proving to be his worst enemy with the veteran leader on Wednesday claiming that phones of all rebel MLAs (who brought down the JD(S)-Congress coalition government) were tapped by the coalition government adding that the legislators planned to take legal action in the matter.  

Alleging that the phone-calls were “heard” by then CM Mr Kumaraswamy himself, Mr Vishwanath, a former JD(S) state president,  told reporters here that he would appeal to Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa to order  an inquiry.  

"Although I was state JD(S) president, after my phone was tapped, I got a call from the CM's office threatening to expose my telephonic conversation unless I withdrew my resignation. And in the assembly Kumaraswamy said I had used cheap language on the phone, but tapping my phone calls was itself a cheap thing to do. The fact that my phone was tapped shows that he did not trust me although I was state head of the JD(S). This was one of the many reasons why we decided to resign,” he said, adding that he was given a  hint about his phone being tapped six months ago by BJP leader, R Ashok.

"Phone tapping is not a new thing. It happened when Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister and when Ramakrishna Hegde was Chief Minister," he added.  On rumours of G.T. Devegowda joining the BJP, he said that he was originally from the party.