New Delhi: Just days after it completed one year in office, Bharatiya Janata Party government is facing trouble with names of two of its big faces embroiled in controversy over former Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi.
Even as the BJP leaders were busy defending External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj over allegations that she gave undue favours to Lalit Modi to ensure that he got a visa for United Kingdom, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje's name has also cropped up in the debate.
The documents released by Modi's lawyer claimed that Vasundhara allegedly supported the former IPL chief's immigration plea when she was Leader of the Opposition in 2011. The documents claimed that she gave her testimony supporting Modi on the condition that it will not be revealed to Indian authorities. The documents also reveal that she helped former the former IPL chief get permit to stay in the United Kingdom.
However, the Rajasthan Chief Minister broke her silence on the documents and claimed that she is "unaware" of any such documents. "I know Lalit Modi's family and I have never denied it. I don't know what documents are being referred to," Vasundhara said.
His legal team also revealed that the Vasundhara Raje government signed an Memorandum of Understanding with the Portugal hospital where Modi's wife was treated. The government signed an MoU with Lisbon-based Champalimaud Foundation on October 2, 2014 in the presence of the Chief Minister. The MoU was signed two months after Modi's wife underwent treatment for cancer. The state government has allotted 35,000 square feet of land to the Portugal hospital.
The BJP has questioned the authenticity of the document, saying there are no signatures of Raje while adding that she has not been in touch with Modi for the last four-five years.
The BJP is already in a tight spot after the controversy broke out over Sushma Swaraj procuring travel documents for the Modi who is charged with financial impropriety and who has been staying in Britain since 2010.
Sushma on Tuesday got a strong backing from her colleague, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who termed all allegations against her in the Lalit Modi issue as "baseless".
"Let me clarify, all the allegations are baseless. Sushma Swaraj and party chief Amit Shah have given statements. She acted bona fide with good intentions. The whole government and party share the same view on this. There is no doubt on this," Jaitley said. Three other BJP colleagues Amit Shah, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar have also spoken in favour of Sushma Swaraj.
"Our ministers are capable of taking decisions, and all decisions taken by the government are the collective responsibility of the government," Jaitley said.
She also got the backing of Shiv Sena who said Sushma was being targeted under a "political game" to oust her from the BJP and that it was imperative for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to step in and order an investigation to know who was so keen on "maligning" her "clean" reputation.
Meanwhile, the Congress, which has been demanding Sushma Swaraj's resignation, kept up its pressure on the government, and demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the matter. The party also wondered at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence on the matter.
"Why is the prime minister silent? The PM has to speak about this nexus. There are many questions which have been thrown up. We demand a through investigation into this affair," Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma said.
"They should respect the (probity) parameters they had set for the UPA ministers. It was not correct for the Narendra Modi government to facilitate travel documents for somebody who is wanted by law in India," he said.
The National Students' Union of India (NSUI) also protested outside Sushma Swaraj's residence, calling for a probe and demanding that she resign.
Sushma Swaraj had admitted that she helped Modi procure documents to travel to Portugal for treatment of his cancer-stricken wife on "humanitarian grounds". The episode has caused huge embarrassment to the government as Lalit Modi is wanted by the Enforcement Directorate for alleged financial bungling in the money-spinning IPL.
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