BackBJP sinks deeper into Swaraj-Modi mess
Lalit Modi stated in an interview that Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje has been a close acquaintance of his over the last three decades
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New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was dragged further into the ongoing Sushma Swaraj-Lalit Modi controversy with the latter stating in an interview that Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje has been a close acquaintance of his over the last three decades. Raje had agreed to be a witness for his immigration plea, Lalit Modi told India Today television channel from the scenic Montenegro in the Balkans. He said Raje was a close friend of the family and that she had accompanied his wife to Portugal.
“She openly agreed to be (a witness) but unfortunately by the time the case went to trial, she was already chief minister, so she did not come to become a witness. The statements she gave (are) all on records in the courts," Modi said.
The interview followed revelations that Raje had given an undertaking that she would support “any immigration application" Modi made, provided her assistance “will not become known to Indian authorities". This transpired a year after Modi left India when allegations of financial wrongdoing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) surfaced against him. More
Meanwhile, The Indian Express reported that the Rajasthan government had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a private Portuguese biomedical research organisation, the Champalimaud Foundation, to set up a cancer institute in Jaipur. The memorandum of understanding was signed about two months after Modi’s wife Minal was treated in the facility in Lisbon. More
Apart from admitting his links to Raje and Swaraj, Modi named a few more politician friends and blamed the controversy on media mogul Rupert Murdoch. The Sunday Times, owned by Murdoch, broke the story about external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj helping Modi get documents to travel to Portugal.
Modi alleged that Murdoch wanted to get out of the broadcasting rights of the loss-making Champions Twenty20 League but couldn’t because there was no exit clause in the contract. Read
Modi also admitted to being very close to Swaraj’s husband and daughter Bansuri and acknowledged the help of other politicians—from NCP chief Sharad Pawar and his colleague Praful Patel and Congress’ Rajiv Shukla.
Swaraj on Tuesday found support in her Cabinet colleague finance minister Arun Jaitely in an attempt by the Narendra Modi-government to put an end to speculation about an internal feud in its ranks. “Sushma Swaraj acted with good intentions and in good faith," Jaitley said. “The entire government and the party are one on the matter and there should be no room for any doubt," he said, adding, “all allegations are baseless." Read
Jaitely also clarified the “confusion" regarding the shades of blue in the Blue Corner Notice issued to former IPL chief Modi. “The light blue cornered notice issued by the directorate of revenue intelligence issued in 2010 is still valid," said Jaitely. But it was not the same as the notice issued by Interpol, he indicated. More
While reports said that the UK on Tuesday said that it had acted “appropriately" and in accordance with rules when issuing travel documents to Modi, the BJP and the Congress continued their war of words over the controversy. The Congress demanded that the Supreme Court set up a special investigation team to probe the issue. Addressing a press conference, Congress leader Anand Sharma said, “Modi ministers are hiding facts and they all are protecting a wanted offender." More
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