New Delhi:
While Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee may be playing down the controversy over his office being tapped, Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh says it is unheard of, and that an enquiry must be ordered in the incident.
He speaks exclusively to NDTV's Sreenivasan Jain.
NDTV: Mr Singh, this is also been seen at some level that all is not well within the Congress and the UPA parivar, and there are questions being asked about the leadership; there are questions being asked about the division within the UPA. Take this entire business of the suspected tapping of the Finance Minister's office - I know it is something which is been there in the news but it has now surfaced in a much more categorical way. Were you as appalled when you read that news as the rest of the country?
Digvijaya Singh: I'm naturally surprised that Finance Minister's office may be tapped or may be bugged. This is something unheard of and I think the government should take a sort of a view on this and look into this and should enquire into, after all, who is responsible for this?
NDTV: But doesn't it strike you as somewhat of a shame on the government, that here is a government is perhaps if proved true, tapping its own Finance Minister's office?
Digvijaya Singh: Until and unless we know who has done it, how can you, sort of, say anything into that?
NDTV: But you believe that it's something that needs to be investigated?
Digvijaya Singh: Absolutely, yes.
NDTV: Mr Singh, some saw this and some saw in fact Mr Pranab Mukherjee asking for a sweep of his own offices as an indication of the paranoia and mistrust that exists within this government. I mean the fact that the Finance Minister needed to do that itself indicates that something is wrong?
Digvijaya Singh: Well, now the new technology has come up and now the Finance Minister's office or any office, even in your own office, I think one has to be careful with the modern technology. You never know who is being bugged.
NDTV: But that's different; a media office is very different from a Finance Minister's office...
Digvijaya Singh: I agree. That's why what I'm trying to say is that we have to be more cautious as far as the governance has to be concerned.
NDTV: We do need to be careful about at least insulating these very very sensitive offices, like thatoOf the Finance Minister?
Digvijaya Singh: Yes, there has to be sweeping from time to time.