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Lalit Modi partying at foreign locales: Huffington Post
New Delhi, June 14
While External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said she helped former
IPL chief Lalit Modi on "humanitarian grounds" to attend to his wife who
was undergoing treatment for cancer in Lisbon last year, Huffington
Post India said the travel document was issued till 2016, and Modi was
seen partying with celebrities like Naomi Campbell and Paris Hilton in
foreign locales.
Huffington Post India reproduced the email
exchanges between Sushma Swaraj, Lalit Modi, Indian-origin British MP
Keith Vaz, and the minister's family.
In an article titled
"Smoking Gun: Read the emails in the Sushma Swaraj-Lalit Modi scandal",
the daily also says Instagram photos of that time "show Modi partying
with celebrities like Naomi Campbell and Paris Hilton in foreign
locations".
Huffington Post India says it has seen the emails
"which shed light" on exchanges between Lalit Modi, the minister's
husband Swaraj Kaushal, Keith Vaz, and the minister's daughter Bansuri
Kaushal, who had worked as a legal counsel for Modi.
It quotes
the emails to say that in 2013, Swaraj Kaushal asked Lalit Modi if he
could help in his nephew's admission to Sussex University.
"Jyotirmay
will be very happy if he can get Sussex. Not many students becoz of the
present Exchange rate," Swaraj Kaushal wrote on August 26, 2013.
Three
days later, Lalit Modi wrote to Keith Vaz to say: "Mrs Sushma Swaraj
called to see if we can do anything to help her nephew get into the law
program at Sussex. Can you help with this."
Vaz replied to Modi, saying: "Sure, can you get him to send over his CV and name of Professor etc."
On
July 31, 2014, Vaz sent an email to Sarah Rapson, an official at the UK
Home Office, which said: "Foreign Minister of India has spoken to me
making it very clear that the Indian Government has no objection to the
travel document being granted which is contrary to what the refusal
notice has stated.
"Mrs Swraj has also spoken to Sir James Bevan,
who even though is on leave, said he will speak to the relevant person
in the Home Office. Frankly everyone has been involved in this apart
from (UN Secretary-General) Ban Ki-moon."
On August 1, 2014,
Rapson replied: "I understand from my colleagues in Travel Documents
that this issue has been resolved and that the solicitors have been
contacted with the good news (and indeed the document)."
On the
same day, Lalit Modi sent an email to multiple recipients, including
Swaraj Kaushal and Naomi Campbell, which said: "Thank you for putting
all your might and help and sleepless nights in resolving this major
issue which has taken us thru tremendous roller coaster ride."
"Roger
and his team backed by just super star Keith Vaz with the support of
numerous friends in India, Malta, Portugal, Virginia Waters, Tel Aviv,
Lisbon, Lyon and some unnamed stars I cannot thank you enough. The sigh
of relief I got even for a minute as I held the document before
relinquishing to my Portuguese friends was sheer delight. Thank you all
from the bottom of my heart."
Vaz replied: "From the horses mouth! I will do a thank you we will need her again."
Sushma
Swaraj on Sunday admitted she had helped Lalit Modi procure documents
to travel to Portugal in July 2014 on "humanitarian grounds" for
treatment of his cancer-afflicted wife, amid an escalating row that saw
the opposition Congress demand her resignation.
In a series of 14
tweets, Sushma Swaraj said she helped Lalit Modi, who has been staying
in London since 2010 following allegations of financial impropriety,
after he approached her last July saying his wife was suffering from
cancer and was to undergo surgery in Portugal.
Sushma Swaraj,
however, denied having sought any favour for her nephew Jyotirmay
Kaushal with regard to his admission in a law course at Sussex
University.
"What benefit did I pass on to Lalit Modi - that he
could sign consent papers for surgery of his wife suffering from cancer?
He was in London. After his wife's surgery, he came back to London.
What is it that I changed?" she said in tweets.