The Congress on Wednesday demanded a reply from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Lalit Modi row, saying it was not ready to hear External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj "again and again" as she herself was involved in the case.
"Only the prime minister can reply as the minister...involved in this ...if she replies, then it is not a solution," Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said in the Lok Sabha during a debate.
"The way the minister supported the fugitive, if we want to talk about this, we need the prime minister to speak. Only he can take action.
"He has the right to appoint ministers. If the minister against whom there are allegations keeps giving replies.... She has already spoken once.
"We want the prime minister to speak and take action," Kharge added.
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The Congress leader also took a dig at Modi. "He (prime minister) only wants to speak on radio or television. Call him.... He should put forward his views on the matter."
Earlier, when he opened the debate, Kharge said the anxiety shown by the government in holding a debate on Wednesday, if shown earlier, would have saved a lot of trouble.
"If anybody is responsible for the situation (in parliament), it is the government and the prime minister. I appeal to you that during this debate, the PM should be present in the the house," he added.
The discussion is being held under an adjournment motion as demanded by the Congress.
Kharge posed several questions to Sushma Swaraj like why she agreed to help a "fugitive" under a probe by the Enforcement Directorate.
"You have said that you helped him on humanitarian grounds. If you had to help him on humanitarian grounds you could have done so legally," he said.
Among the three reasons cited by Lalit Modi to seek travel documents, his wife's illness was never the first cause and he used the permission to go to "resorts" everywhere, Kharge said.
The Congress leader wondered as to why the government did not appeal in the Supreme Court's against the Delhi High Court's decision to restore his passport.
He also refused to accept Swaraj's contention that she had only responded "orally" to the British envoy's query that bilateral relations will not be affected if Lalit Modi was granted travel documents to visit his ailing wife in Portugal.
"Is that not a recommendation," Kharge asked.
Kharge insisted that the external affairs minister should resign on the question of propriety.
"Your help shows your relationship with him (Lalit Modi) is deep. Your relationship is economic. What you did was a favour and this is our charge against you," he said.
The Congress leader also attacked a BJP chief minister for helping Lalit Modi.
