Govt says bugging issue bogus, matter should be closed

New Delhi, Jun 23 (PTI) Indian government Thursday
insisted that there was no bugging of Finance Minister Pranab
Mukherjee's office, saying the whole thing is "bogus" and the
matter should be closed now.
"I had myself talked to the Finance Minister last
evening on this matter. There is nothing to take forward. The
Finance Minister has categorically and emphatically stated (to
the media) that it has been investigated and the answer is
there has been no bugging," Minister of Information and
Broadcasting Ambika Soni told reporters here.
Mukherjee had maintained that the Intelligence Bureau
had not found any evidence of bugging and the substance found
in 16 key places in the Finance Minister's office was "chewing
gum".
"The Finance Minister has said the whole thing is bogus
and we should close the matter. Kindly don't spend more time
and energy on this futile exercise," Soni said.
There were reports that the alleged bugging could have
been done by the one of the rival ministries of the
government. This had led the opposition to charge that there
is a trust deficit in the government.
Asked about the trust deficit, Soni said, "The question
does not arise." PTI RC
KAP