Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his silence on the controversy surrounding former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi, Congress leader P.C. Chacko on Wednesday alleged that the former was single-handedly controlling the External Affairs Ministry with Sushma Swaraj acting as a 'mute witness'.
"The fact that in 2010 when the Government of India found that Lalit Modi is a money launderer and is involved in all kinds of backdeals, cases were charged against him and he was sent to England. At that point of time in 2010 and in 2011, there was a very close association of (Vasundhara) Raje and her family with (Lalit) Modi and there are a number of documents available now. In fact, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in course of its investigation found that Dushyant, son of Vasundhara Raje, was given money. That amount is also mentioned in the document. More than 11 crores of rupees was given to Dushyant by Lalit Modi. It simply means that a person who is an absconder, who has clearly violated the law of the land, a money launderer involved in betting, involved in money laundering, involved in unlawful activities, has been helped by the BJP leadership, Raje and her entire family, Sushma herself," Chacko told ANI here.
"By doing this, Sushma Swaraj has misused her position and that is why she is now in the dock. But why is (Prime Minister) Modi silent? He is single-handedly controlling the EAM. Sushma is merely a mute witness. The Ministry is being controlled by (Prime Minister) Modi. You will see that whenever he makes a foreign tour, and if Sushma Swaraj is accompanying him, she doesn't have any role to play. PMO is handling the EAM. That means the Prime Minister is in the knowhow of things," he added.
Chacko said that former foreign secretary Sujata Singh's sacking by the NDA Government was further testimony to the secret nature in which the External Affairs Ministry along with BJP leadership had handled 'fugitive' Lalit Modi's case.
"Sujata Singh, who was recently sacked by the (Prime Minister) Modi Government, was an honest officer.....She very clearly had revealed that the files related to (Lalit) Modi were circulated, but not sent to the Secretary. This file had originated from the Minister, who seemed to have handled it in a very private, closed manner without even showing to her secretary. It shows the secret nature of things handled by Sushma Swaraj. With Finance Minister, Home Minister defending Sushma, it shows the deep nexus involved in helping a fugitive," said Chacko.
"The BJP is involved neck deep in high-level corruption. Sushma Swaraj should immediately step down. There has to be a high-level enquiry. What the Congress is demanding is an investigation supervised by the Supreme Court of India. Nothing short of that will solve this problem because it is so serious," he said.
Swaraj, who has been facing criticism for helping the former IPL boss in procuring the travel documents from the UK, had on Sunday said she had taken a humanitarian view of Lalit Modi's case since his wife was suffering from cancer.
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She further said that British MP Keith Vaz had spoken to her on the same subject, adding she believes that giving an Indian citizen 'emergency travel documents' cannot spoil relations between India and the UK.
Vaz, who is facing an inquiry in the UK over the role he played in Modi receiving his travel papers, said that he had checked with the Indian Government before taking any action and added that he had received a 'no objection' from New Delhi.