The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Saturday demanded a court investigation into Narendra Modi's involvement in the alleged surveillance of an unmarried young woman and sought action against former Gujarat home minister Amit Shah.
In a statement, the party politburo said the release of tape-recorded conversations between top Modi aide and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Shah and a senior police officer regarding the illegal surveillance of a young woman on the orders of "saheb" raises serious questions about the state of civil liberties in Gujarat.
The police officer was then superintendent of the Gujarat anti-terrorist squad.
"To use the powers of the state and further to use the anti-terrorist squad to snoop on the private life of a young woman, to follow her every movement, to snoop also on her other family members and friends, shows the utterly unethical and illegal practices and degeneration of the minimum norms of democratic governance under Modi," the party said.
Gujarat Chief Minister Modi is the prime ministerial candidate of the BJP. His aide Amit Shah is party in-charge of Uttar Pradesh.
The CPI-M also said the Gujarat government must take immediate action against Shah and the police officers for violating the Indian Telegraph Act.
"They also have to be prosecuted for the crime of stalking under the recently amended provisions of the IPC related to crimes against women," the party said.
The CPI-M said it is well known that for Amit Shah, there is only one "saheb" and that is Modi.
"What was Modi's interest in the matter? In a case involving the chief minister, it would be appropriate for a court investigation into Modi's involvement and if found to be involved, he must be prosecuted," the party said.
According to the expose by investigative websites Cobrapost and Gulail, the woman's movements and her conversations were being covered by the Gujarat "state Intelligence Bureau, the Crime Branch and the Anti-Terrorist Squad in August 2009 on oral orders, without any valid legal authorisation, and was meant only to serve the interests of someone whom Amit Shah addressed as 'saheb'."
