Indian gov't orders probe into "snoop gate" involving Narendra Modi

The Indian government has ordered a probe into allegations of snooping on a young woman in 2009 by the western state of Gujarat and its controversial Chief Minister Narendra Modi who is also the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s prime ministerial candidate for 2014 general elections.

"The cabinet has approved a proposal to set up a commission of inquiry to look into the incidents of physical/electronic surveillance in the states of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh and the National Capital Territory of Delhi, allegedly without authorization," a release said.

In fact, the investigation was ordered by the central government after the Indian Cabinet approved it in a special meeting held in the national capital Thursday in the wake of two websites releasing recordings of alleged phone conversations between Modi's aide Amit Shah and police officials, which apparently revealed that the woman was under illegal surveillance.

The probe panel will be headed by a retired judge of the country's Supreme Court and is expected to complete within three months its inquiry into the case dubbed by the Indian media as " snoop gate," sources said, adding that the woman or her family has not complained about the "snooping."

The BJP, the ruling party of Gujarat, has denied the allegations, saying the woman, a young architect, was "provided with protection on the request of her father because she was being harassed." "We can't disclose the nature of the case for obvious reasons. But there was nothing illegal about it," the party's spokeswoman Meenakshi Lekhi told the media.

Experts say that with the general elections barely six months away, the probe into the snooping allegations is seen by many as nothing but an apparent last ditch attempt by the ruling Congress party -- itself embroiled in corruption scandals -- to discredit Modi who stands a fair chance of becoming India's next prime minister if the BJP comes to power in May 2014 polls.

Modi, being Gujarat's chief minister since 2001, has been credited with making the state one of the most prosperous in India, but often accused of turning a blind eye to the communal riots in the state in 2002, in which over 1,000 people, mainly minority Muslims, were killed. However, he has never been convicted by a court of law for his alleged role in the riots.