The Sunday Guardian of India claims to have a report from a “highly placed source” that high power bugging devices were found in the bedroom of Nitin Gadkari, senior BJP leader who is also the Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways. The reports are later denied but drawing a lot of media attention. They do admit regular sweeps are done at ministerial offices and residences.

The Guardian says:

In a startling incident, high power listening devices were found in the bedroom of Nitin Gadkari at his 13 Teen Murti Lane residence in New Delhi. The discovery was “accidental” and a debugging exercise was immediately ordered.

According to highly placed sources, more devices were consequently discovered at the residence of the senior BJP leader who is also the Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways. Gadkari has apparently informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat about the incident.

Initial investigations have revealed that the bugs were “planted in the house by a foreign agency since the sophisticated listening devices found are used only by western intelligence operatives, particularly the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the National Security Agency (NSA)”. It may be recalled that Edward Snowden’s revelations carried by Washington Post on 30 June stated that top BJP leaders were under surveillance by a premier US spy agency. It could not be ascertained who besides Gadkari were the other BJP leaders who had been spied upon. Operations may now be going on to check whether, or not, other prominent BJP leaders too were under surveillance by this external agency. The BJP-led NDA government lodged a strong protest with the US State Department following the publication of the news in the Washington Post.

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These reports are later denied in a number of other media outlets, yet the possibility of bugging is causing a stir.

The Indian Republic:

A report by the media that had claimed that listening devices had been found at the residence of the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari. The minister, however, has dismissed this report, calling it ‘highly speculative’. 

and The Deccan Herald:

A controversy erupted over a report of bugging devices having been found in Nitin Gadkari’s residence but the Union Minister today dubbed it as “highly speculative” even as the Congress said it reflects lack of faith and mutual trust among NDA ministers.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said, “If reports of bugging of senior Cabinet minister Nitin Gadkari, who is also a former BJP president, are correct, they are indeed extremely serious.”

“It reflects a certain lack of faith amongst ministerial colleagues and an absence of mutual trust. It’s time that both Gadkari and also BJP and government come clean on the issue and place before the people of the country if at all there was bugging and if there was snooping being done…

“…at whose instance and at whose authority it has been done. And what is the reason, if any, for conducting such snooping. All these issues need to be clarified both by BJP as well as the Prime Minister and the Home Minister in the larger interest of people,” .

Swamy said, “My own investigations and my sources reveal that this may happen not later than October last year. The planting of the device and that means at that time, when the UPA was in power, the NSA has specifically targeted the BJP and Gadkari was a very important person. He had the confidence of the RSS.”

And on NDTV YouTube channel: