Mumbai: Former Chief Minister and leader of Opposition in Maharashra Devendra Fadnavis on Friday denied charged of levelled by Uddhav Thackeray-led state government that phones of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Shiv Sena leaders were being tapped during the Assembly elections. A day after the incumbent state government ordered probe into the matter, Fadnavis said that tapping phones of leaders is not part of the political culture of Maharashtra.

"It is not in our culture to tap the phones of political opponents in the state. This is absolutely baseless. The (then) government had never issued any such orders," Fadnavis said in a statement.

Further, hitting out at Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, who has lodged the complaint regarding the same, Fadnavis said that political credentials of the senior Congressman is known to the whole country.

He also added that, "Despite this, if the state government wants, it is free to investigate in any manner it deems fit. The truth must come out before the people. If required go to Israel and probe."  Pointing out that during his government, the Minister of State for Home was from the Shiv Sena, Fadnavis urged that the probe must be completed at the earliest and its report must be placed before the people.

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Even Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh has alleged that the phones of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and MP Sanjay Raut were tapped by the previous BJP-led government.

Deshmukh has said that the state government had ordered a probe into complaints of tapping of many phones as had been ordered by the erstwhile BJP-led regime, who misused the official machinery. The Maharashtra Police's Cyber Cell has been ordered to look into various complaints of this telephonic surveillance.

Referring to senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh's revelations that a Maharashtra government official had gone to Israel for this purpose, Deshmukh said the probe will find out who was sent (to Israel) and whether it was official.

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"Is the @OfficeofUT going to give details in public that who was behind snooping and tapping in Maharashtra. Who were the officers of Maharashtra Govt who went to Israel to talk to NSO the brain behind malware Pegasus," Singh had tweeted.

The issue has evoked sharp reactions from the three ruling MVA partners, Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress with several leaders and ministers, including Jayant Patil, Nawab Malik, Jitendra Awhad, Sachin Sawant, and others slamming the former BJP government for the alleged wire-tapping.

Meanwhile, Sanjay Raut said on Friday he has nothing to hide and if anyone wishes to tap his phone, they are welcome.