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Visa row: Sushma Swaraj met Lalit Modi at private dinner in London, no one-on-one meeting

Swaraj’s office refuted claims that she had a one-on-one meeting with Modi

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who is facing heat over helping former IPL chief Lalit Modi obtain travel papers, met him in London in 2014 during a private dinner hosted by a hotelier.

According to reports, Swaraj and Modi were part of a group of 15 people who attended the dinner hosted by hotelier Joginder Sanger. Swaraj was staying at the Kensington Hotel during an official trip for Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas.

However, Swaraj’s office refuted claims that she had a one-on-one meeting with him.

Read: Ministers jump to defend Sushma Swaraj

Earlier in the day, Swaraj lost her cool at a Twitter user on Wednesday when an allegation was made against her for reportedly using favours to get her daughter Bansuri Swaraj admission into a medical college using the northeastern quota.

The tweet originated from the handle @pakoed and the tweet alleged: “Sushma Swaraj is no stranger to taking and giving favours! Her daughter studied through northeast quota in medical college."

Read: What next? Vasundhara Raje ‘secretly’ supported Lalit Modi’s UK immigration plea: reports

The strain of allegations from political opponents was probably taking a toll on the External Affairs Minister and she lost her cool at the user and reacted angrily saying, ‘My daughter is a barrister and Oxford graduate. What you say is absolutely false”.

The handle @pakoed was deleted afterwards. Twitterati have shown resilience and supported the External Affairs Minister all throughout.

Read: Lalit Modi-Swaraj row: Govt rallies behind Sushma, ‘her intentions were good’

Some have even asked Ms Swaraj to not lose cool over a stray tweet.

Youth Congress members wearing Lalit Modi and Sushma Swaraj masks during a protest at Teen Murti in New Delhi on Wednesday. Swaraj facilitated former Indian Premier League (IPL) chief Lalit Modi’s travel to Portugal for his wife’s treatment last year. (Photo: PTI)

Sushma Swaraj came into the eye of a storm after it was pointed out that the minister had helped Lalit Modi to procure travel documents for traveling to Portugal. Modi had cited his wife’s cancer treatment as the reason for his travel.

Swaraj maintained she had helped Lalit Modi on humanitarian grounds.

( Source : deccan chronicle )
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