‘Won’t allow it to be whitewashed’

Sibal said the decision of the Modi government to set up a two-member inquiry commission to probe the snooping issue was an attempt to whitewash the matter. “What will happen when the Gujarat Chief Minister,who himself is a potential accused,he sets up the committee… He is Chief Minister and his men will inquire it. They are trying to whitewash the matter by setting up this inquiry. It will also take 11 years like the Nanavati Commission,which is yet to submit its report despite 20 extensions in 11 years. People will not accept it… this is a very serious issue,” Sibal said.

Sibal also questioned Modi’s claims about his state’s development model,saying they were not backed by facts and that Gujarat was the “most indebted state of India”. “He (Modi) is neither zero,nor hero. His place lies somewhere in between. He is trying to put down everyone else,the rest of India and give credit only to himself for everything as if he is messiah,” he said.

The opposition BJP was quick to react,with spokes-person Prakash Javadekar saying development figures of the past decade prove otherwise and asked the Congress to stop making baseless allegations against the Modi government.

Pradeep Sharma files defamation case against activist

AHMEDABAD: Suspended IAS officer Pradeep Sharma,who is at the centre of the snooping row involving Chief Minister Narendra Modi and a woman,filed a defamation case against Delhi-based social activist and writer Madhu Kishwar in a district court here on Thursday. The officer has alleged Kishwar posted several derogatory messages on her Twitter account and made defamatory remarks against him and his family members during a talk show on a TV news channel.

Sharma himself appeared and filed the case before a district court here through his lawyer,but refused to say anything. The district magistrate (Ahmedabad rural) scheduled the matter for hearing on December 5.