Congress on Monday attacked Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Lalit Modi controversy over his alleged “clean chit” to Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and the former IPL boss, terming it as a “clear-cut cover-up” but stopped short of seeking his resignation.
“It is a clear-cut cover-up. We charge the Finance Minister with influencing the Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe in Raje’s son Dushyant Singh and Lalit Modi’s case,” Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said while addressing a joint press conference with former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh.
Mr. Azad wondered as to what made the Finance Minister give a “clean chit” to Vasundhara Raje’s son and Lalit Modi, when the ED, which comes under his ministry, was probing these “shady transactions” of converting “ill-gotten black money”.
ADVERTISEMENT
Asked why Congress was not demanding resignation of the Finance Minister for the alleged cover-up, he said, Congress was waiting for the response from the Prime Minister as he had maintained silence on the matter so far.
“We will reveal our strategy after hearing what the Prime Minister says. Let us see what he says,” Mr. Azad said, adding the earlier the Prime Minister speaks it would be better for him as the issue could lead to resignation of several people and bring half of the Union Council of Ministers under cloud of suspicion“.
He asked Mr. Jaitley, who is also Leader of the Rajya Sabha, how he could describe as “commercial transaction” the Rs. 11 crore dealing between Mr. Dushyant and Lalit Modi. “Why he is giving clean chit to Vasundhara Raje and her son?”
ADVERTISEMENT
This was because Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain has told Delhi High Court on January 6 that ED has already initiated action through an “open and general investigation” and it will be taken to its logical conclusion, Mr. Azad said.
“Does it mean that ED investigations have been summarily closed against Raje’s family by the Finance Ministry? Has the Finance Minister not prejudiced and prejudged the issue proving the complicity of BJP leadership in these black money dealings?” Mr. Azad said posing five questions to Prime Minister.
Taking a dig at the Prime Minister, MR. Ramesh said it was time Narendra Modi gets up from “Nidrasan” (Sleep) and say something. “Everyday new scandals are being exposed and yet PM is silent on this. So isn’t PM party to all this?” Mr. Azad asked.
Speaking separately, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma rejected Mr. Jaitley’s “commercial transaction” argument.
He asked the Finance Minister how could “re-routing of laundered money from a tax haven for purported investment in a company at an inflated share price of 9000 times be seen as a normal transaction.”
“Jaitley needs to be reminded that in the past as Leader of the Opposition he had demanded action against a UPA minister when only a shadow was there. He had insisted action even when no allegations were substantiated,” Mr. Sharma told PTI .