Headlines
Congress drags PM into Sushma controversy
New Delhi, June 15
The Congress on Monday
dragged Prime Minister Narendra Modi into the controversy over travel
documents given to Lalit Modi, arguing that the prime minister must have
been aware of the help being extended to the former IPL commissioner.
"For
a prime minister who single-handedly runs the external affairs
ministry, it is hard for us to believe that the prime minister did not
know that active help was being extended to Lalit Modi," Congress
spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said at a press conference here.
"Not
only did Lalit Modi have a relationship with External Affairs Minister
Sushma Swaraj, but also with the prime minister and BJP president Amit
Shah," he alleged.
Surjewala posed 11 questions to the
government, including one on what relationship the prime minister and
the BJP president have with Lalit Modi.
He said Sushma Swaraj admitted that not only she knew Lalit Modi but used to talk to him over phone.
"Maybe
that is the reason the decision of the UPA government to act against
Lalit Modi was overruled by the external affairs minister," he said.
"It
is unprecedented that written communication establishes a quid pro quo
between the criminal in question and the minister," the Congress
spokesperson added.
The controversy over Sushma Swaraj's help to
Lalit Modi erupted after Britain's Sunday Times reported an e-mail
exchange between influential Indian-origin Labour MP Keith Vaz and head
of UK Visas and Immigration Sarah Rapson, citing the external affairs
minister, to facilitate travel documents for Lalit Modi.
Sushma
Swaraj on Sunday said she helped Lalit Modi on "humanitarian grounds"
over treatment for his cancer-afflicted wife in POrtugal.
Earlier, Congress leader P.L. Punia termed Sushma Swaraj's excuses "totally bogus".
"The
way Sushma Swaraj has gone about the issue, it is not in the national
interest. Her excuses are totally bogus and one not standing scrutiny of
facts. As per Portuguese law, it is not required to obtain the
signature of the husband for any surgical operations," he told
reporters.
Punia said Sushma Swaraj went out of her way to provide Lalit Modi with help.