Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi alleged on Friday, in a video statement, that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is tapping his phone. He said the phone holds the proof of his allegations against Modi. The report gave no detail of what that evidence is and carried no independent verification of the tapping claim.
The debate challenge
Gandhi also renewed a call for a one-on-one debate with Modi, saying it would show who is anti-national and who is controlled by foreign powers. He first made the challenge on 2 November on social media, accusing Modi of owing his position to foreign help, and the report shows no evidence for those claims. On 3 November he repeated it, offered Modi the choice of judge and suggested RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat as one option. On 4 November, at a rally in Sangrur, Punjab, he said he would prove within five minutes that Modi is a traitor and that Donald Trump controls him. On 6 November he asked Home Minister Amit Shah to persuade Modi, and after 9 November he repeated the challenge in reply to Modi's remark about so-called urban Naxals at a CRPF event in Bastar.
He also mocked Modi for using a teleprompter at a Diwali gathering and said Modi could bring one to a debate. The Punjab rally took place ahead of that state's elections.
No response so far
The report included no reply from the government, the BJP or Modi, and no official denial of the phone-tapping claim. The statements above are Gandhi's own and are reported as allegations, not established facts.
