Govt says bugging issue bogus, matter should be closed

New Delhi, Jun 23: Government today (Jun 23) 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