Tehelka case: Sushma Swaraj claims Union Minister shielding Tejpal

New Delhi: Senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj today lashed out at Congress, saying a Union Cabinet Minister is "shielding" Tehelka Editor Tarun Tejpal, who is accused of sexually assaulting his junior colleague.

Without naming anyone, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha today tweeted, "Union Cabinet Minister who is the founder and patron of Tehelka is shielding Tarun Tejpal." Congress and BJP have been involved in a slugfest over the issue. Rejecting Tejpal`s demand that the sexual assault case against him be handed over to CBI, BJP had said he may use this as an "escape route" as he is close to the ruling Congress. Yesterday, BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu had said, "This (plea to give case to CBI) can be an excuse. It may be an escape route to get away... Congress likes Tejpal and he likes Congress." Congress, however, rejected BJP`s contention and claimed that there is no reason why this issue should be linked to politics. Party spokesperson P C Chacko drew parallels of this case with the snooping scandal allegedly involving Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.