Opposition parties protest 'snooping' on Rahul, issue rocks

Opposition parties in Parliament and outside today vociferously protested the alleged "snooping" on Rahul Gandhi but the Government and the BJP trashed the charge, accusing them of making a "mountain out of what is not even a molehill".
The government maintained in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha that Delhi Police personnel had recently visited Rahul's residence to collect information on him as part of a transparent security profiling that was used to profile 526 other VIPs, including former Prime Ministers and Sonia Gandhi, a practice prevailing since UPA rule.
Upping the ante, Congress said Government's response was "completely redundant".

The party alleged that the government was "trivialising" the issue and leaders of BJP were making misleading statements.
Party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi also rubbished suggestions that Congress President Sonia Gandhi had in the past filled up a proforma like the one that was taken to Rahul Gandhi's office saying "neither Sonia nor Rahul or their private secretaries have filled up any such form on their behalf."
Dismissing the Congress charge of "political espionage", Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said enquiries made about Rahul was a routine affair.

"This is an exercise (which has been) going on since 1947 and the proforma procedure was formalised in 1957 by Delhi Police," the Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister said here.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah asked why the Union Home Ministry had not come out with an explanation immediately after the issue cropped up.
"If the explanation for the 'snooping' is correct, then two questions - why didn't MHA offer this explanation about 500+ profiles immediately," Omar, who is working president of Opposition National Conference, wrote on twitter.
In the Rajya Sabha, the issue was raised by Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad who said Rahul had been a SPG protectee since his father Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister and it was "beyond comprehension" why the police was only now collecting such information on him like his shoe size, colour of hair, habits, his associates, friends and aides.

His senior party colleague Anand Sharma accused government of tapping phones of political leaders, judges and others through imported devices and demanded an inquiry monitored by the Supreme Court into the snooping issue.