As the Union Law Minister Kapil Sibal on 2 May announced the Union government's probe into the "snoopgate," charges against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, more Congress leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Sushilkumar Shinde, Anand Sharma began to attack the Gujarat Chief Minister.
From BJP senior leader Arun Jaitley was the first to respond to Sibal's announcement. Jaitley said that no judge will come forward to take up the "political and malafide" investigation work aimed at Modi.
Sibal said: "You will get a snoopgate judge before May 16. I don't know why these people are so worried? Why leaders of BJP are worried and why they are making public statement that no judge should join this commission?" The Hindu quoted.
Sibal claimed that leaders in BJP are worried as they knew that what will happen once the judicial commission is set up. "Once the commission is set up there is no saving for Narendra Modi," Sibal added.
According to the Law Minister, there is a documentary evidence against Modi how the latter has snooped a young girl and her activities. Modi will be booked with the commission's probe and this has begun to worry BJP leaders, Sibal said.
The earlier snoopgate investigation commission appointed by the Gujarat government will never move further as the panel was appointed by none other than Narendra Modi himself, the Union Law Minister said.
Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said: "When as CM he was snooping on women, what will happen to the safety of women if he becomes PM?"
Shinde, a senior Congress leader from Maharashtra, revealed that the government took the decision to appoint a judge to probe the snoopegate against Modi much before the model code of conduct was implemented during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
Terming Modi's governance in Gujarat as dictatorial one, Union Commerce Minister Ananda Sharma said: "This is the Gujarat model of governance and adminstration. To listen to every conversation...Then it is used to harass people. Gujarat has been converted through these actions into a police state. It is reflection of a mindset that is dictatorial not democratic."
Sharma demanded for a comprehensive probe not only into the particular scooping incident but also into every phone conversation that was tapped by Modi government.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi also rapped Modi saying that he (Modi) was a "chowkidaar" who keeps tabs on women. His sister Priyanka Gandhi said that the Gujarat government has no regard for women as it taps their telephones.
According media reports, snoopgate controversy refers to the Gujarat's government's alleged audio recordings pertaining to a woman, Madhuri, when Amit Shah was the Gujarat's Minister of State for Home. Shah defends that the woman's phone calls were tapped as her father requested to see to that she does not get into any trouble. And it is said that all this was done with the assent of Modi.
