The Congress party on Tuesday continued its offensive against Narendra Modi government over Lalit Modi visa row involving External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. The Congress claimed that it was not just about travel papers, but about the protection being given to "a criminal" by the NDA government.
Dismissing Swaraj's claim that her act was driven on humanitarian grounds, Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma said that the "humanitarian cause" point was a "false tear jerker".
Addressing a press conference in the national capital, Sharma termed the "situation created by the External Affairs Minister" as "scandalous".
Pointing that former Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi was accused of money laundering, match fixing and rigging contracts, the Congress leader said, "It has been clear from day one that not only the foreign minister, but at the highest level, this government was keen to help Lalit Modi get his passport."
The Congress further asserted that the Prime Minister must clear the air over the issue and speak about it, adding, "Should we believe there is a larger nexus that led to money laundering and match fixing?"
"The Prime Minister had promised to bring all black money back and submit them in bank accounts of people, but that's not possible for practical reasons…but what about this person? Isn't it the government's responsibility to bring Lalit Modi back," said Sharma.
Sharma also targeted Lalit Modi over his "several" foreign vacations during the stay in UK, despite declaring himself as "bankrupt". "This man has been holidaying across the world, travelling in private jets," he said.
"He (Lalit Modi) declared bankruptcy in London court over unpaid bills of 65,000 pounds on 20 March, 2012. How many bankrupt people in the world can holiday in different parts of the world?" asked the Congress spokesperson.
The Congress reiterated a demand for a Supreme Court-monitored investigation into not just Lalit Modi's travel papers issue, but into the whole issue of alleged "protection given" to the former IPL chief, urging the Prime Minister to take the issue to a "logical conclusion".
The latest attack on the foreign minister and PM Modi came even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hit back at the Congress, terming the Lalit Modi travel documents row as a "non issue".
Referring to Congress releasing photos showing Lalit Modi with Swaraj besides Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP Chief Amit Shah, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said the picture was five years old when Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat and also the head of the state cricket association with Shah being his deputy in the board.
Terming as "baseless" the charges against Swaraj, he said that Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son and vice-president Rahul Gandhi have been clicked "practically with all coal scam accused, 2G (spectrum allocation) scam accused and Aircel-Maxis scam accused," besides those accused of CWG scam.
"They (Congress) are bereft of ideas. They want to make a non-issue an issue which will never become an issue... it shows the complete bankruptcy of Congress," Javadekar told reporters in Chennai at the airport.
"Congress has lost the plot and is frustrated because people of the ocuntry have reposed their faith in Modi Government and Congress cannot digest this," he said.
Seeking to turn the tables on Congress, Javadekar said that even its leaders had been spotted with Lalit Modi.
"We have won the faith of poor people. Congress cannot digest this. So they are levelling these charges. They are baseless charges. After Sushma ji's clarification there is no issue at all," he said.
Swaraj is in the centre of a controversy for helping Lalit Modi, who is facing charges of misappropriation of funds in IPL and currently staying in London, get documents to travel to Portugal for his wife's medical treatment.
She had reasoned that she had helped him on "humanitarian" grounds.
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