The government on Tuesday reiterated its complete support to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj over former Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi visa row.
Dismissing all allegations against his Cabinet colleague Swaraj, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said that all allegations against the External Affairs Minister were "baseless".
When asked if the decision on Lalit Modi’s travel papers were taken by Swaraj alone or if other members of the government had a role in the same, the Union Minister said, "All ministers in the Union Cabinet take their own decisions and each member is competent enough to take a decision."
He swiftly added that both the Narendra Modi government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stood with Swaraj in the decision concerning Lalit Modi.
"The government is collectively responsible for the actions of ministers," said Jaitley, adding that the foreign minister "acted in a bonafide way in extending help to Lalit Modi".
When asked about the actions of the Enforcement Directorate against the former IPL chief, the Finance Minister said that the agency did investigate several cases against Lalit Modi and also issued showcause notices to him, adding the notices sent to him were "quasi-judicial in nature".
The Union Minister also took a dig at the opposition over the charges of Interpol notices against Lalit Modi, saying, "There’s a confusion about shades of blue". He pointed that not blue, but a "light blue" notice was issued against the former IPL commissioner.
"There’s a procedure of a blue corner notice issued by the Interpol, and there’s a procedure of the light blue notice issued by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence at the behest of Enforcement Directorate," said Jaitley.
The Finance Minister, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Sushma Swaraj reportedly met ahead of the press conference.
This came hours after the Congress party continued its offensive against Narendra Modi government over the issue involving the External Affairs Minister. The Congress claimed that it was not just about travel papers, but about the protection being given to "a criminal" by the NDA government.
Dismissing Swaraj's claim that her act was driven on humanitarian grounds, Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma said that the "humanitarian cause" point was a "false tear jerker".
Addressing a press conference in the national capital, Sharma termed the "situation created by the External Affairs Minister" as "scandalous".
Pointing that former Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi was accused of money laundering, match fixing and rigging contracts, the Congress leader said, "It has been clear from day one that not only the foreign minister, but at the highest level, this government was keen to help Lalit Modi get his passport."
The Congress further asserted that the Prime Minister must clear the air over the issue and speak about it, adding, "Should we believe there is a larger nexus that led to money laundering and match fixing?"
"The Prime Minister had promised to bring all black money back and submit them in bank accounts of people, but that's not possible for practical reasons…but what about this person? Isn't it the government's responsibility to bring Lalit Modi back," said Sharma.
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