Modi government to explore legal options against probe on snoopgate

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat Government today took strong objection to the Centre's decision to order a judicial probe into the alleged snooping of a Bangalore-based woman by police at the behest of then Minister of State for Home Amit Shah and said it will explore legal options against the move.

The BJP Government questioned the rationale of setting up the judicial commission, when the state has already formed a similar panel to inquiry into the raging scandal which came to light last month.

"As per the Commission of Inquiry Act, it is illegal to appoint another commission, when one commission has been appointed to inquiry into a particular incident," Gujarat Government spokesperson Nitin Patel said tonight.

"We will explore all legal options against the commission of inquiry constituted by the Central Government," said Patel, who is also Gujarat's Finance Minister.

This is an attempt by the UPA Government to harass Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, he alleged.

The Union Cabinet today approved setting up a judicial inquiry in the snoopgate that relates to illegal surveillance of the young woman, an architect, by Gujarat Police on orders of Shah under directions of a "saheb" in 2009.

In mid-November, two websites Cobrapost and Gulail.com had released tapes of Shah and IPS officer G S Singhal revealing the alleged snooping of the woman, whose family hails from Gujarat, by state machinery.

As the issue snowballed into a major controversy, the Modi Government in late November formed a two-member inquiry commission headed by Justice (retd) Sugynaben Bhatt and asked it to submit a report in three months.

Meanwhile, suspended Gujarat IAS officer Pradeep Sharma, who was also allegedly spied on by the State machinery, said he hopes the Centre-constituted panel will bring out truth behind the entire episode.