Snoopgate: Will Appoint A Judge Before Votes Are Counted, Says Government

New Delhi: Before votes are counted on May 16, the government will appoint a retired judge to investigate whether Gujarat police officers spied on a young woman architect at the behest of Narendra Modi.

That declaration was made by Law Minister Kapil Sibal.   His colleague, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, said "As Chief Minister, he (Modi) was snooping on women.  So what will happen to our women if he becomes PM?"

Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley responded in a blog post. "I doubt very much if any of these moves is likely to succeed. Even if it did, a future Government would be well within its legitimate rights to review such a malafide last-minute decision of the UPA," he wrote.

Mr Modi is the BJP's prime ministerial candidate; his party has said that naming a judge to head the inquiry would amount to a violation of the model code of conduct, which bans the government from making any important decisions or appointments once elections are called.  

The BJP also alleges that so far judges approached by the government to head the investigation have refused the invite. The government denies this. BJP leader Arun Jaitley has said the government's attempts equal "a political and malafide move."

The Congress has leveraged the scandal dubbed "Snoopgate" to allege that Mr Modi violated the privacy of a woman, blatantly breaking the laws to  have her phones tapped and her movements monitored. (Priyanka references Snoopgate, says 'throw out netas who tap women's phones')
 
The controversy erupted in November last year after the release of audio tapes  that allegedly have Mr Modi's top aide, Amit Shah, using his post as  Gujarat Home Minister to order the woman's surveillance by the police.

The BJP has said that the woman architect was aware that her family had sought the Gujarat government's help in ensuring that she was tailed because they were worried about her safety.

Five months ago, the Gujarat government appointed a committee headed by a retired judge to investigate "Snoopgate". (Stalk-Gate: Gujarat government forms two-member Commission of Inquiry)

The BJP has alleged that the Centre's inquiry infringes upon the state's powers. (Stalk-Gate inquiry by Centre is not vendetta, claims Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde)