File photo of Congress president Sonia Gandhi at an election rally
Without naming Narendra Modi, Congress president Sonia Gandhi today tore into the BJP for trying to "cover one man's real face with a mask." She also said women were subjected to atrocities in Mr Modi's Gujarat, in an apparent reference to 'Snoopgate' or the alleged spying on a young woman by Gujarat police officers in 2009.
"These days, in every corner of India, through huge, expensive ads, they are spinning a web to cover their lies. There is an attempt to cover one man's real face with a mask. He is being projected as the cure for all ills and a miraculous leader," Mrs Gandhi said at a rally in Kolar in Karnataka, which goes to polls on April 17.
"This is the same BJP that gives many lectures on religion and ethics. You have witnessed how the personal lives of women were played with in their rule, and how much shame it led to across the country. Various atrocities are being committed on our sisters in Gujarat. This is their real face."
Karnataka will vote on April 17, in round 5 of the nine-phase polling for the national election that ends on May 12.
(Elections schedule)The BJP is widely tipped to win the election, but opinion polls suggest it may fall short of a clear majority.
(Elections: full coverage)The 'Snoopgate' scandal surfaced when a senior Gujarat police officer submitted tapes of secretly-recorded phone conversations in 2009 to the CBI. The conversations allegedly indicate that the woman was being tailed at the instructions of a "saheb" or big boss. The Congress has alleged that this man is Mr Modi, who is the Chief Minister of Gujarat. (
'Stalking sahebzada': Congress targets Narendra Modi for alleged Snoop-gate)
The BJP said the woman's father, who was known to Mr Modi, was worried about her safety and had asked for her to be protected. The father, in a letter, verified that claim.