Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi at a rally in Chhattisgarh
Congress Vice President
Rahul Gandhi today invoked the 'Snoopgate' controversy to launch a blistering attack on
Narendra Modi, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate. The scandal relates to alleged spying on a young woman architect by police officers in Gujarat in 2009.
"The Gujarat Chief Minister gets women's phones tapped, sends policemen behind them and then we see posters talking about empowerment of women," Mr Gandhi said at a rally in Kanker in Chhattisgarh.
The Congress No.2 was joined by his mother and party chief Sonia Gandhi, who in a veiled reference to the 'Snoopgate' scandal', lashed out at Mr Modi, accusing him of atrocities against women in his state.
(Snoopgate reference in Sonia Gandhi's attack on Narendra Modi)"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," Mrs Gandhi said at a rally in Kolar in Karnataka.
Without naming Mr Modi, Mrs Gandhi tore into the BJP for trying to "cover one man's real face with a mask."
The BJP is widely tipped to win the election, but opinion polls suggest it may fall short of a clear majority.
(India Votes 2014: 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.