NAGPUR/MUMBAI, Oct. 25 -- Senior BJP leader and state revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule has kicked up a controversy after claiming in a party meeting that the mobile phones and WhatsApp activities of BJP workers are under surveillance ahead of the upcoming local body elections. Demanding Bawankule's arrest, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut alleged that the phones of opposition leaders and ruling alliance partners too were being tapped by the BJP. Addressing party workers in Bhandara on Thursday, Bawankule urged for unity and discipline within the party, and warned party workers that discontent over ticket distribution must not spill over into public forums or social media. "One wrong click can ruin the next five years," he warned. "One mistake can cause harm to Bhandara city. One wrong vote or act of rebellion can deal a big blow to the party. Those who rebel or indulge in indiscipline will find the doors of the leadership closed to them." The minister added that everyone's mobile phones were under surveillance and all WhatsApp groups were being monitored before the local body elections. "Your mistakes will spoil the plans of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and prime minister Narendra Modi," he said. The event, attended by guardian minister Pankaj Bhoyar and several senior BJP functionaries, was aimed at energising the cadres ahead of the polls. Reacting to Bawankule's remark, which went viral, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut demanded that the minister be arrested, as phone tapping was illegal. "Chandrashekhar Bawankule should be booked under the Indian Telegraph Act and arrested and interrogated immediately," he said. Alleging that a "Pegasus-type surveillance machine" had been installed in the BJP's war room, Raut said that not just opposition leaders like Sharad Pawar and Uddhav and Raj Thackeray but also those from the ruling alliance and several journalists were under surveillance. He added that Bawankule himself, along with state BJP chief Ravindra Chavan and some BJP supporter builders from Mumbai, had set up this 'war room'. Referring to the 2019 controversy, where Maharashtra's top cop Rashmi Shukla was accused of tapping the phones of opposition politicians at the BJP's behest, Raut said Bawankule's statement only confirmed that the BJP's monitoring was continuing. "The union home ministry under Amit Shah as well as the state authorities should take immediate action in this matter," he said. Reacting to Raut's remarks, Bawankule told media persons that what he told BJP workers was an internal matter of his party and Raut had no business talking about it....