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NCP, NC oppose snoopgate probe
NCP, NC Oppose Snoopgate Probe, Two Allies of the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the National Conference (NC), which have been allies of the BJP in the past, opposed the Central government move for probe under the Commissions of Inquiry Act
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New Delhi: Two Allies of the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the National Conference (NC), which have been allies of the BJP in the past, opposed the Central government move for probe under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1951, into the snoopgate involving BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has tweeted, saying, “Was talking to my dad last night & he felt the same way – setting up a Commission of Inquiry in the dying hours of UPA 2 is just wrong.”
NCP leader and Union Minister Sharad Pawar met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and conveyed his strong disapproval of the Centre’s decision to appoint a retired judge to investigate whether Gujarat police officers spied on a young woman architect at the behest of Narendra Modi. NCP leader and Union Minister Praful Patel said, “The NCP does not approve setting up of a Snoopgate panel at this stage. Results of the elections are only 10 days away.” The stand of the two UPA allies is bound to cause discomfort to the Congress. The Union Cabinet has taken a decision to have the Snoopgate investigated by a Commission of Inquiry and both the NC and NCP, way back in December, 2013, were party to the Cabinet decision.
By distancing from the Cabinet decision, these parties want to keep their options open. Timing of the stand taken by the two UPA allies is significant as it comes ahead of the results of the General Election, when the Congress is widely seen to be losing power.
Since both the National Conference and NCP were part of the NDA during the Vajpayee government, possibly the two parties want to keep their options open. The BJP has taken the position that rules forbid government from making an important appointment after elections have been called. “I doubt very much if any of these moves is likely to succeed. Even if it did, a future government would be well within its legitimate rights to review such a mala fide last-minute decision of the UPA,” said BJP leader Arun Jaitley.
