At a time when the Modi government is focused to act on bringing back black money stashed abroad, the revelations that external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj had facilitated travel papers for the former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi have overshadowed BJP’s claims of a taint-free rule since it assumed office a year ago.
Lalit Modi is wanted by the Enforcement Directorate in various cases of financial irregularities as well as illegal transfer of money. Even as in a big relief to Swaraj both the government as well as the ruling BJP decided to back her, rejecting any demand for her resignation, political analysts believe an issue of impropriety has hit the Modi government.
Soon after a British newspaper claimed that Keith Vaz, one of Britain’s longest-serving Indian-origin MPs, used her name to pressure Britain’s top immigration official to grant travel papers to Lalit Modi, she had a telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Ironically, the former IPL commissioner is wanted in several cases of financial irregularities being probed by the ED, functioning under the ministry of finance headed by Arun Jaitley. The ED has issued a blue corner notice, meaning that Interpol or law enforcement agencies around the world have to assist in locating, identifying or obtaining information about Lalit Modi wanted in a criminal investigation.
Though, it was not known what transpired in the conversation, but it was soon followed by Swaraj’s tweets in which she defended her action. Sensing that the issue was bound to flare up as the first major crisis of credibility for the Modi government, both the BJP as well as the RSS came out defending Swaraj, saying she only acted on humanitarian grounds as Lalit Modi’s wife was suffering from cancer and was being treated in Portugal.
BJP president Amit Shah said that it was not like helping Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, accused in Bofors gun case, or Warren Anderson, chief of Union Carbide, responsible for deaths in 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy leave the country. “Sushmaji has herself clarified on Twitter. She has helped an Indian national whose wife was suffering from cancer. She said if British rules permit, then he should be helped. There is no need for creating a furore over it,” Shah said.