The issue of alleged spying through drones was raised in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly on Friday and there was a lot of uproar in the House. On this issue, there was a heated exchange between Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur. In fact, as soon as the proceedings of the House began, Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur raised the issue through a point of order in the Assembly and said that his residence was being monitored by drones. He said that the drone hovered over his house four times on Friday morning and reached the doors and windows.
Jairam Thakur said that when he inquired, he found out that it was being operated from the SP’s residence. He strongly objected to this and called it a serious matter. He wanted to know what kind of method is this that even the windows of someone’s house are being monitored and who is going there and whose car is parked there is being found out. He said that earlier also people in plain clothes were standing near his house and surveillance was being done. He said that phones are also being tapped.
He alleged that the officers are crossing their limits and this is not right. He said that this is a violation of the privacy of the person’s family and this cannot be tolerated. He said that the officers should work within their limits.
What did CM Sukhu say?
On this, Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania said that he will look into the matter. Pathania said that he has taken cognizance of the matter. After the Question Hour ended, Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu responded to this under Point of Order and said that the Leader of Opposition has a habit of spreading sensationalism. He taunted whether ED and CBI are getting this work done. He said that in this regard, he will write a letter to the central agencies and ask and get information and will also get it investigated. During this, the opposition members started making noise and stood up on their seats. Meanwhile, the Assembly Speaker intervened and said that the Chief Minister is the leader of the House and when he is putting forth his point in the House, everyone should listen to it and if there is something wrong in it, then the members can raise their objection.
After this, the Chief Minister said that his government does not believe in spying. The government is concerned about the safety of the Leader of the Opposition, if you have to be given security, we will give it through police, not through drones. He said that no spying is being done through drones. He said that neither is any officer tapping the phone. The Chief Minister said that if any officer is found involved in this, action will be taken against him.
On the other hand, Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur, dissatisfied with the Chief Minister’s reply, said that if the matter of drone surveillance was raised in the House with the permission of the Speaker, then what crime is there in it. He said that Himachal Police is doing all this. He accused the police of making the BJP MLAs sit in the police station for hours and said that when they go back, they are being called back halfway. He said that the government should not allow the officer to go to this extent. He demanded action against the guilty officer.
Report: UK Sharma
