New Delhi: Even as the row over External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj helping former IPL chief Lalit Modi procure travel documents continues, the Opposition has questioned the alleged silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the matter.
“Serious charges have been raised against the External Affairs Minister. The Prime Minister, who has been talking about accountability and no corruption, is now quiet,” said CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury.
“We are asking the PM how this is going to be addressed and how it will be made accountable to Parliament,” Yechury added.
Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh also slammed PM Modi for his silence on the matter.
“The PM should tell us his thoughts on helping Lalit Modi. Why has Modi ji become "maun Modi"? asked Singh.
Will he only talk about yoga? Will he only do event management? Why is the Prime Minister not speaking? he said further.
Sushma had yesterday admitted that she had helped Lalit Modi procure documents to travel to Portugal last July on "humanitarian grounds".
Sushma, in a series of 14 tweets, said she helped Lalit Modi, who has been staying in London since 2010 following allegations of financial impropriety, after he approached her last July, saying his wife was suffering from cancer and was to undergo surgery in Portugal.
The minister, however, denied having sought any favour for her nephew Jyotirmay Kaushal with regard to his admission in a law course at Sussex University.
"What benefit did I pass on to Lalit Modi - that he could sign consent papers for surgery of his wife suffering from cancer? He was in London. After his wife's surgery, he came back to London. What is it that I changed?" she said in angry tweets.
Sushma is reported to have spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the matter, even as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah and Home Minister Rajnath Singh came out in support of the senior minister.
While the Congress demanded the minister's resignation for "gross impropriety" for having helped Lalit Modi, against whom the Enforcement Directorate has filed charges, many BJP leaders, as well as Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav, came out in her support.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan tweeted his support: "Sushma Swaraj ji's life is an epitome of transparency and probity in public service. Any attempt to misconstrue humanitarian action will fail."
Ram Gopal Yadav said: "Sushma Swaraj has done nothing wrong, it's unfortunate that people have hyped this matter."
The incident was triggered after Britain's Sunday Times reported an e-mail exchange between influential Labour MP Keith Vaz and head of UK Visas and Immigration Sarah Rapson, citing Sushma Swaraj, to facilitate travel documents for Lalit Modi.
The Sunday Times in its report said: "Leaked correspondence reveals how Vaz cited Sushma Swaraj, India's foreign minister, to the Home Office in an effort to expedite the case of Lalit Modi, a mutual acquaintance."
The Enforcement Directorate has initiated proceedings against Lalit Modi and in March 2010, the Regional Passport Office in Mumbai had revoked his passport.
With regard to her nephew's admission, Sushma said: "Regarding Jyotirmay Kaushal's admission in a law course at Sussex University, he secured admission through the normal admission process in 2013 - one year before I became a Minister."
(With IANS inputs)
