The Congress has alleged that the illegal surveillance was commissioned by Narendra Modi. (File pic)
The National Commission for Women or NCW appeared to speak in two voices on how it would proceed in the case of a young woman who was spied upon by some of Gujarat's most senior police officers in 2009, allegedly on the orders of Amit Shah, a close aide of
Narendra Modi, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate.
After commission chief Mamta Sharma said on Wednesday that plans for an enquiry had been abandoned based on a letter written by the woman's father, her colleague Nirmala Samant Prabhavalkar said the commission wants the authenticity of the letter checked.
She also questioned why the letter was sent to a political party's office before it was received by the commission.
The commission had received the father's letter on Tuesday night; it said that his daughter wants her privacy to be respected and does not want the matter investigated by the NCW.
Ms Prabhavalkar was quoted by Press Trust of India as saying that the NCW has written to the Gujarat Government asking it to investigate the surveillance of the woman and ascertain whether her constitutional right to privacy had been violated and whether state and police machinery was misused.
The BJP, which says that the father's letter should end the raging controversy, suggested this morning that the NCW is over-stepping its brief. "The woman has said she does not want her privacy invaded, and that is not being respected. The NCW's mandate is to protect women," said the party's Nirmala Sitharaman. She expressed worry that the women's commission "is not speaking in one voice."
The BJP has accepted that the woman was monitored; it, however, says it wasn't snooping but an elaborate protection arrangement done with the consent of the woman and her family.
The Congress has alleged that the illegal surveillance was commissioned by Mr Modi and wants a Supreme Court judge to investigate the charges.