My govt did not tap phones, but state free to probe: Fadnavis

Mumbai: Amid allegations that the previous BJP-led dispensation in Maharashtra tapped the phones of opposition leaders, former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said phone-tapping was not the culture of the state and his government had not given any such orders.

He also said that the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government was free to conduct an inquiry into the phone- tapping charges against the previous BJP-led dispensation.

"Phone-tapping is not the culture of Maharashtra. My government had not given any such orders," Fadnavis, who is the Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Assembly, said in a statement.

"The whole country knows the credibility of those who have levelled such allegations," Fadnavis, who was the chief minister of the state between 2014 and 2019, said.

"The state government is free to probe the allegations with the help of any machinery. People of Maharashtra know the truth. A Shiv Sena leader was the minister of state for home during my tenure," he added.

"I have a request- the government should immediately conduct an inquiry and make the report public. If it wants to go to Israel for the probe, it should do that," he said.