Inquiry into Snoopgate justified, doing it to target Modi isn't

The centre’s decision to institute an inquiry into the allegations of illegal surveillance is justified. The Union Cabinet’s decision to create a Commission of Inquiry to look into allegations that the government of Gujarat had used the state’s police machinery to spy on a woman unfortunately may do little to curb the menace. The decision to include the two other states was reportedly to avoid criticism that the inquiry was essentially instituted to harass the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. The BJP’s argument hinges on the fact that the Gujarat government has already appointed its own inquiry commission to look into the allegations of illegal surveillance against former minister Amit Shah. While it would have been wiser for the Congress-led central government to wait until the Gujarat inquiry commission’s report made its findings public before creating its own inquiry, the party perhaps didn’t want to leave anything to chance when it came to raking mud against its opponent’s PM candidate and his closest aide.