Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Brinda Karat on Sunday dubbed External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's decision to help controversial Indian Premier League (IPL) founder Lalit Modi with his travel documents to be a shocking case of grave impropriety and said that her move is unwarranted and unscrupulous.
"When ED's probe is going on, Union Cabinet's External Affairs Minister, a senior minister, directly helping (Lalit) Modi is unwarranted and unscrupulous," Karat told ANI here.
"She has show compassion for a person, who is trying to escape the ED probe and he has the temerity to go straight to the External Affairs Minister. If there are grounds of compassion, normal course should be followed and the government should give the papers. Why does he need to go the External Affairs Ministry? Is it Sushma's compassion for all those who are facing the ED probe? Is that the message they want to send from the Ministry?" she asked.
The CPI (M) leader further asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give an explanation on the entire episode.
The External Affairs Minister had earlier admitted to helping Lalit Modi with his travel documents, but made it clear that she did so only on humanitarian grounds.
Amid calls for her resignation by the opposition parties, Swaraj tried to clarify her position via a series of tweets.
Also Read
Swaraj said that she took a humanitarian view of Modi's case since his wife was suffering from cancer.
"Taking a humanitarian view, I conveyed to the British High Commissioner that "British Government should examine the request of Lalit Modi as per British rules and regulations. If the British Government chooses to give travel documents to Lalit Modi that will not spoil our bilateral relations," she tweeted.