Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy is hopeful that his phone was not tapped, saying he would have received a notice from the investigation team probing the incident had it been tapped.

He affirmed that he is not averse to present himself before the special investigation team probing into the alleged tapping of telephones of high-profile leaders during the previous BRS regime. “I did not receive any notice from the SIT. I have no objections to go if I receive notice,” he said in an informal chat with reporters in New Delhi on Wednesday.

The Chief Minister said the Congress government had not registered any case pertaining to phone tapping. A case relating to missing equipment was registered in the Punjagutta police station and retired IPS officer R.S. Praveen Kumar was the first to complain that his phone was being tapped. He asserted that the government would not dictate terms to the special investigation team in its inquiry. A thorough inquiry into the entire episode would bring out the facts behind the case.

He made light of BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao’s claim that governments tapping of telephones was common and said: “Let Mr. Rama Rao say the same before the SIT”.

The Chief Minister said though phone tapping was not illegal, certain procedures should be followed before ordering it. “Snooping on the telephones of own family members reflects the sorry state of affairs,” he said.

To a question, he said the Supreme Court could only advise the Speaker on defections by the MLAs, but could not issue any orders. To another query, he said the government had not mortgaged the lands of Central University.