Gujarat snooping scandal: Cabinet gives nod for probe; BJP lashes out at Congress

NEW DELHI: The Cabinet on Thursday decided to approve the setting up of a Commission of Inquiry into the alleged "snooping" on a woman in Gujarat allegedly at the behest of Amit Shah, a close aide of BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

The Home Ministry had prepared a note to be placed before the Union Cabinet for its approval for conducting the probe either through a sitting or a retired Supreme Court Judge.

The Centre's decision over-rules the contention of the Gujarat government that it was a state matter and it had already appointed a commission for probe into the matter.

Web portal gulail.com had yesterday claimed that the snooping of the woman allegedly at the behest of Modi was not only confined to Gujarat but extended to Karnataka as well.

The portal, which along with another portal cobrapost. com, had first exposed the matter, alleged that Gujarat police had in 2009 contacted its Karnataka counterpart during the Chief Ministership of B S Yedyurrapa for intercepting the telephone of the woman when she was living in Bangalore.

Gurudas Kamat of Congress welcomed the move saying, "This should have happened earlier. I congratulate cabinet and PM."

On its part, the BJP slammed the central government and called the probe a 'political vendetta' of Congress. Ravishankar Prasad of BJP said, "Congress has again activated its dirty tricks department."

BJP leader Nirmala Seetharaman said, "Congress is trying to get back after the 4-0 drubbing. It is an attack on Centre-State relationship."

Seetharaman went on to say, "This is an example of the fascist Congress with their emergency mindset. Congress is continuing its fascist mindset insipte of all public opinion going against them."

BJP President Rajnath Singh said, "Attempts have been made by Congress to harass Narendra Modi, but truth will be revealed. He (Narendra Modi) is under no pressure."

The illegal surveillance on the woman architect, allegedly by the Gujarat Police was apparently in violation of phone-tapping rules as it was reportedly carried out without the mandatory permission from the Centre when she went out of the state.

Sources said a state Home Secretary is empowered to order phone-tapping within the state but when the surveillance is carried out in multiple states, permission of the Union Home Secretary is mandatory.

The Gujarat Police appear to have tapped the telephone of the woman when she was also in Maharashtra and Karnataka, besides Gujarat, without taking any authorisation from the Union Home Secretary, the sources said.