Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his “silence” on the Lalit Modi controversy, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said his party was against discussion until > External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj steps down.
Claiming that Mr. Modi’s credibility is on the decline, Mr. Gandhi said the Prime Minister should listen to the voices of the people of the country who are demanding an answer from him over controversies confronting the government.
“The Prime Minister had assured the country that he will not tolerate corruption. His words should carry weight. But he speaks in air, he speaks whatever comes to his mind, his credibility is slowly declining.
“We asked the Prime Minister what he thinks about > Lalit Modi . We got no answer. We got no answer on the Vyapam scam, no answer on Chhattisgarh and no answer on Sushma,” he told reporters outside Parliament.
Mr. Gandhi’s comments come against the backdrop of the stalemate persisting in both the Houses of Parliament with Congress-led opposition aggressively pressing for ouster of Ms. Swaraj and Chief Ministers of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh Chouhan over the Lalit Modi controversy and > Vyapam scam , which the government rejected.
He made it clear that there would be no discussion on the > Lalit Modi controversy unless Ms. Swaraj quits office.
“What we have said is that (there will be) no discussion without resignation. Sushma has done a criminal act. He (Lalit Modi) is a ‘fugitive’. You have signed it (the recommendation for grant of travel document). The High Commission does not know about it. The Indian government too in unaware of that,” he said and alleged that there were business links between the families of Lalit Modi and Sushma Swaraj.
