NEW DELHI, Nov 16: Did rightwing Indian opposition’s prime ministerial candidate use the Gujarat police to stalk a woman in whom he had a curious interest in 2009? Alleged tape recordings between a top police officer and the right-hand man of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, published by a well regarded news portal on Saturday, have set off a political storm.

A clarification produced by Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party may have weakened his defence after the alleged father of the unidentified woman claimed he had asked Mr Modi, “a family friend”, to look after her.

Targeting Mr Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party over the alleged police snooping on a young woman on the orders of “Saheb”, the ruling Congress party slammed the “brazen assault on civil liberty by state sponsored stalking” after the “Gujarat pogrom” and “fake” encounters.

Information and Broadcasting Manish Tewari alleged that the revelation by a joint investigation by well regarded CobraPost and Gualil websties reflected the kind of state the BJP wanted to make and asked if this was its definition of freedom and liberty.

His remarks came as BJP president Rajnath Singh ruled out a rethink on its prime ministerial candidate over the accusation of illegal surveillance by Cobrapost and alleged that “dirty tricks wing” of Congress was behind the controversy.

Congress leader Digvijay Singh also took a potshot at BJP, wondering whether supporters of Mr Modi would condemn or defend the “spying on an innocent girl” by the Gujarat police.