Congress today sought to make more trouble for the government on the Lalit Modi issue, putting forth six demands, including making public minutes of a meeting it claimed External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had with UK High Commissioner James Bevan. It was in this meeting, Congress claimed, that she had favoured grant of travel documents to Lalit Modi.
Pitching for full disclosure by the government, Congress’ chief spokesman Randeep Surjewala claimed that Swaraj has herself admitted that the meeting with the UK High Commissioner had taken place.
“Minutes of the meeting in which help for Lalit Modi was sought have been recorded. They are with the External Affairs Ministry and they should be made public,” he told reporters.
Surjewala also demanded that any communication by Sushma Swaraj with Bevan or UK Foreign Minister on the matter be released.
The party also wanted the Prime Minister to answer if relatives of any Union Minister had received job offers from Lalit Modi recently.
Insisting that such an offer was indeed made, he said that there was no mention of it on the website of the PM though rules of government business demand that any minister must keep the PM informed about any such offer.
Demanding the sacking of Swaraj, he reminded the Prime Minister that the Congress had adhered to the “highest standards of propriety” by asking for resignation of Madhavsinh Solanki and Natwar Singh when allegations were made against them while they were External Affairs Minister.
He said “moral and constitutional propriety” demands that the Prime Minister ask Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje to resign.
He also demanded resignation of HRD Minister Smriti Irani who is embroiled in a controversy over her educational qualifications.
Lalit Modi Row: The Cast
>Arun JaitleyUnion Finance Minister, BJP
"All allegations levelled are baseless."
>P. ChidambaramFormer Finance Minister, Congress
"Ensure Modi returns to India for ED probe."
>Sushma SwarajExternal Affairs Minister, BJP
Helped Lalit Modi after taking a humanitarian view.
>Sitaram Yechury General Secretary, CPI-M
Intervention of Sushma Swaraj is unacceptable
Sushma Swaraj and Keith Vaz are no longer the only ones in the line of fire:
- » Documents supplied by Lalit Modi's lawyer on Monday revealed that >Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje had in August 2011 backed his immigration application on condition it would not be made known to Indian authorities.
- » On Wednesday Sushma Swaraj was tweeting in response to allegation that her daughter >Bansuri Swaraj got admission to medical school the northeast quota.
- »> Media baron Rupert Murdoch found his name figure in the controversy. In a TV interview, Mr. Modi said Mr. Murdoch was upset with him.
Hints at fissures in the BJP were made by party member Kirti Azad, who pointed to an in-house conspiracy targeting Sushma:
- » In his tweets, >Mr. Azad referred to a party insider having a role to play in leaking information about the Minister's recommendation and her family's association with Mr. Modi. Mr. Azad claimed that it was a 'snake in the grass' and a media personality who conspired against Ms. Swaraj.
Armed now with enough ammunition, the opposition trained its guns on the Centre :
- »>Former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said Lalit Modi must be brought back to India to face a probe by the enforcement directorate on the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) violations.
- » Sushma should be sacked, said >Rahul Gandhi: "Lalit Modi is the symbol of black money stashed outside and Sushma Swaraj is protecting him"
- »>AAP leader Kumar Vishwas: alleged PMO's involvement in Swaraj row
Timeline
- - First exposé in the London-based on Lalit Modi controversy It alleged that senior Labour British parliamentarian of Indian origin Keith Vaz used his influential position as chair of the House of Commons home affairs select committee to help Mr. Modi get his papers to stay in the UK as a temporary resident, despite his position as a fugitive from the law in India.
- Mr. Vaz, who did not make any public or media statement, in a post on his website said his email was hacked and confidential information accessed. In another post he claims that when he took over there was a passport crisis with 500,000 pending cases in the Home department, which he was able to bring down considerably in five years.
- - In a follow up to the first story the next week the name of Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj comes in as yet another senior politician who is making a case for Lalit Modi. Leaked correspondence shows that Mr. Vaz invoked the names of both Ms. Swaraj and Sir James Bevan, British High Commissioner to India as Mr. Modi’s friends, in order to strengthen his case with the immigration authorities.
- - In a TV interview Mr. Modi alleges that media baron Rupert Murdoch, who owns the Times and Sunday Times has masterminded the Sunday Times story. He claims that Mr. Murdoch was miffed over a “no exit” clause in the Champions League, and is therefore getting his back.
