An eavesdropping case involving Narendra Modi, an opposition figure, is unlikely to alienate his supporters, who attended a rally in New Delhi on Saturday.  NEW DELHI â In a set of telephone transcripts and recordings that were published by an Indian website this month, high-ranking intelligence and security officers from the western state of Gujarat can be heard reporting back on an unusual assignment: covertly tracing every movement of a young woman, meticulously documenting her contacts with men. Their findings were passed to another high-ranking official they referred to as âSaheb.â  Though no one mentions his name in the transcripts, the context leaves little doubt that Saheb is Narendra Modi, Gujaratâs chief minister, who hopes to be Indiaâs next prime minister.  The âsnooping controversy,â as it has been called by Indian newspapers, comes six months before national elections, as Mr. Modiâs Bharatiya Janata Party rides a wave of anti-incumbency sentiment. After a flurry of reports in the Indian news media, Mr. Modiâs government on Monday appointed a two-member commission to investigate charges that surveillance of the young woman had been carried out illegally.  After the transcripts were published, a spokeswoman for Mr. Modiâs party acknowledged that Mr. Modi had used government resources to monitor âthe girl,â but did so because her father had requested security for her, so it was not a violation of her rights. Another version has come from a suspended civil servant from Gujarat, who says he fell out with Mr. Modi because he had information about a secret relationship between the leader and the young woman, an architect. The woman, who has since married, has made no public statements.  The matter is unlikely to drive away Mr. Modiâs supporters, who are braced for a season of partisan exposÃ©s. But it has set off a discussion of the use of state surveillance in Gujarat, which Mr. Modi has run with a firm grip since 2001.  âThe fact is that for a lot of people, this is part of his appeal, that he is a tough leader, he does what he thinks needs to be done,â said Shekhar Gupta, editor in chief of The Indian Express, a daily newspaper. âI think people are overcorrecting for a very weak government, and there is a hankering for a strong government, whatever a strong government means.â  He added, though, that undecided voters might be concerned that Mr. Modi had used the police to follow the woman, who was not suspected of any crime. âPeople who are in the middle may worry that if this guy comes to power, heâll have many more agencies under him,â Mr. Gupta said.  The website that published the transcripts, Cobrapost, said they were provided to Indiaâs Central Bureau of Investigation this year by a Gujarat police officer, G. L. Singhal, who is accused of carrying out extrajudicial killings and had decided to cooperate with the authorities.  The level of scrutiny was extraordinary, according to the transcripts. The man supervising the operation was Amit Shah, one of Mr. Modiâs top aides, who now occupies a crucial post in the B.J.P. campaign. Mr. Shah instructed officers to collect footage from surveillance cameras, supply records from the womanâs phone carrier, follow her to gyms and shopping malls and tail her from an airport arrival lounge.  âIn case she escapes, we can keep a vigil at the hotel,â Mr. Shah says, according to the transcript. Mr. Singhal recounts the womanâs telephone conversations, remarking, âSir, she talks very rudely with her mother.â Mr. Shah nervously urges his subordinate not to allow the woman to slip away unnoticed, saying repeatedly, âSaheb comes to know of everything.â  Neither Mr. Modi nor the government of Gujarat has commented on the transcripts, which were heavily covered on Indian news broadcasts. Civil and security officials in Gujarat did not respond to requests for comment.  The day after the recordings were published, Meenakshi Lekhi, a spokeswoman for the B.J.P., questioned why âCDs that were part of official state property were made available to members of the opposition,â and dismissed them as a smear by the Congress Party, which leads the national government.
Government eavesdropping on a woman in India has been traced to Narendra Modi, Gujarat Stateâs chief minister, and it has spurred a discussion of the stateâs use of surveillance.