Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram today questioned the “stalling of answers” by the External Affairs Ministry headed by Sushma Swaraj to the questions posed by him on the Lalitgate issue.
“Seven questions I asked on #LalitModi have become RTI application, MEA stalls answers, Why?” he tweeted
“Also, is Minister Swaraj aware that the MEA has stalled answers to the RTI questions?”, the former Finance Minister said in another tweet.
His tweets came in the wake of reports that Swaraj’s office has declined to provide information about the controversy surrounding restoration of former IPL boss Lalit Modi’s passport. Swaraj has been facing opposition onslaught over the issue.
Responding to an RTI plea containing seven questions, the External Affairs Ministry said, while a part of the queries did not come under the purview of the transparency law, regarding others it pleaded lack of information.
The questions included one about who had taken a decision not appeal in the Supreme Court the Delhi High Court’s decision restoring Modi’s passport. Government has drawn sharp criticism from Congress and the Left in the matter.
Another senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh also targeted the government on Prime Minister’s continued silence on the Lalitgate issue.
In a tweet in Hindi, he said, “Modi talks about corruption while he is abroad but keeps mum on the corruption in BJP. He sometimes tell people to take the ‘jhadu’ (broom) in hand and sometimes to do ‘shavasan’ (sleeping pose) or just clicks a selfie.”
Party General Secretary Shakeel Ahmed tweeted, “RSS ideologue Govindacharya says,both Ms Sushma Sawraj&Ms Vasundhra Raje should resign immediately,due to their involvement in Lalitgate.”
At the AICC briefing, party leader Jairam Ramesh took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, describing him as “Swami Maunendra Baba” for his continued silence over the Lalitgate issue.
Congress has been demanding resignations of Swaraj and Raje over Lalitgate, of HRD Minister Smriti Irani over allegedly misrepresenting facts about her educational qualification in separate election affidavits and of Maharashtra minister Pankaja Munde for her alleged involvement in a “scam” by clearing purchases worth Rs 206 crore in violation of norms.