New Delhi: With the controversy over Sushma Swaraj helping former IPL chief Lalit Modi secure travel documents from the UK for Portugal snowballing, the Congress on Tuesday demanded that the Prime Minister should immediately sack the External Affairs Minister.
Speaking to reporters, Congress leader Ajoy Kumar said that the government of Narendra Modi was not just a 'suit-boot ki sarkaar' but was also trying to protect the accused.
“The BJP, the External Affairs Minister and the whole government have come out to save an accused of the Enforcement Directorate. The 'suit-boot ki sarkar' is doing everything to save an economic offender,” Kumar said.
“It is strange that the PM is not aware of Swaraj helping Lalit Modi. He should immediately sack her,” he added.
The Congress leader said Swaraj's "immoral and illegal" work in the Modigate was reflected in the email correspondence between her and the former IPL Boss.
“Do we need more reason than the fact that the country's foreign minister is trying to protect a man accused in a Rs 700 crore case,” he asked further.
Taking a dig at the Prime Minister, he said that Narendra Modi should speak out on this issue in his next 'Mann ki Baat' address on the All India Radio.
Another Congress leader Digvijay Singh sought to drag Finance Minister Arun Jaitley into the controversy.
He said, “(Have) greatest regard for Sushma Swaraj but this is a matter of State. Why is Mr Jaitley quiet?”
Yesterday also, while seeking the minister's resignation, the Congress had asked the Central government to make public all letters it had written to the UK government regarding Lalit Modi and insisted that Swaraj's help to him for getting travel documents was a clear case of quid pro quo.
Congress spokesperson PL Punia said Swaraj and Lalit Modi were in contact for long.
"As a quid pro quo, Swaraj has done favour to a tainted person who is accused of Rs 700 crore money laundering...," he said terming as "complete bogus" her defence that she helped him on humanitarian ground.
The genesis of the controversy was disclosure of e-mails showing that Swaraj had spoken to Indian-origin British MP Keith Vaz and UK's High Commissioner to India James Bevan favouring the grant of travel documents to Lalit Modi to go to Portugal, purportedly for his wife's cancer treatment in June last year.
Modi, who is wanted in India, has made London his home since 2010 to avoid a probe for alleged foreign exchange regulation violations in the IPL T20 cricket tournament held in South Africa in 2009. The previous UPA government had revoked his passport and had pressed for his extradition.
