New Delhi:
The Congress today took the controversy over the alleged stalking of a young woman in 2009 by senior officials in the Gujarat government, to the President.
A delegation of the party's women leaders as well as activists marched to the Rashtrapati Bhawan this afternoon and met President Pranab Mukherjee with a demand for a probe into the case.
The Congress has alleged that the expansive surveillance of the woman was ordered by Narendra Modi, who is running for Prime Minister.
"93,000 calls were intercepted. The situation has revealed that it was a reign of terror and Gujarat was a police state," said Congress leader PC Chacko.
Two weeks ago, two news websites, cobrapost.com and Gulail, said that the Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI has audio tapes that allegedly reveal then Home Minister Amit Shah instructing police officers to tail the woman at all times, as insisted upon by "saheb" or boss.
The Congress alleges that the "saheb" reference is to Mr Modi.
The woman's father wrote on Tuesday night to the National Commission for Women, claiming that his daughter, an architect, was aware that he had requested Mr Modi to ensure that she was safe. He did not say what prompted his request, or what sort of assistance he asked for or received.
The BJP used the letter to bolster its argument that the controversy has been manufactured by political opponents to undermine Mr Modi's credibility in the run up to the national elections, due by May.