Lalit Modi row: Congress alleges quid pro quo in MoU between Lalit Modi, Vasundhara Raje
New Delhi: Mounting pressure for resignation of Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, Congress on Friday alleged a "quid pro quo" in a MoU between her government and tainted former IPL boss Lalit Modi for setting up a cancer hospital in Jaipur.
Read: Priyanka Gandhi has not had a meeting with Lalit Modi: Congress
Congress also rejected any "links" between Lalit Modi and the Gandhi family after BJP made the allegation seizing on a tweet by the former IPL Commissioner that he had "run into" Priyanka Gandhi and Robert Vadra in a London restaurant. It termed 'Lalitgate' as an index of "Gujarat model" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Alleging that Lalit Modi was working at the behest of BJP to divert attention to "non-issues", the party released a copy of a MoU between Rajasthan government and Lalit Modi in October regarding the cancer hospital, saying it's a case of public money being "sloshed for crony gratification" in a 'quid pro quo'.
Read: Vasundhara Raje admits signing documents for Lalit Modi
Facing Opposition heat over help extended by Raje and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to Lalit Modi regarding his travel documents in the UK, BJP latched on to his tweet and alleged links between him and the Gandhi family.
Read: Union Minister Sadananda Gowda trains guns against Lalit Modi
Rejecting the allegation, Congress chief spokesperson Randip Surjewala said, "Looking into each other is neither improper nor a crime by any strength of imagination. There was no social interaction of any nature between Lalit Modi and Robert Vadra or Priyanka Gandhi."
Read: Running into anybody not a crime, says Congress on Lalit Modi’s tweets
He said that instead of "diverting attention", let the government answer the "pointed questions on corruption and quid pro quo of the help" given by a Union Minister and a Chief Minister to a "fugitive" of Indian law, who is named in crimes committed under FEMA, IPC.
Senior leader and party spokesperson CP Joshi wondered what is there to clarify when Lalit Modi had himself said that he had run into Robert and Priyanka.
"This is not allegation. You are taking inference out it. What is to clarify when Lalit Modi has already clarified? It is a coincidence. What can anybody do if some one appears before some one in a restaurant,?" Joshi said.
When pressed further, he said who is he to give a clean chit to anybody when the statement of Lalit is itself sufficient.
Read: Why is Gandhi family in touch with Lalit Modi, questions BJP
"Did Priyanka go to meet him. He had run into them," Joshi said reiterating the demand for resignation of Swaraj and Raje over the Lalit Modi row.
Joshi alleged that "irrefutable" evidence and facts in public domain now establish gross constitutional "impropriety, moral bankruptcy, patent illegalities, brazen abuse of official position and criminal culpability" on part of senior BJP functionaries including Swaraj, Raje, HRD Minister Smriti Irani and Maharashtra minister Pankaja Munde.
Surjewala demanded that the NDA government should release all notices sent to Lalit Modi under Congress government for FEMA violation and other cases.
Read: Lalit Modi was keen to share underworld-related info, says Rakesh Maria
"These are government to government communications between the Congress government here and UK government in which the former had demanded action against Lalit Modi and asked for repatriation to India. BJP refuses to release these documents despite Chidambaram demanding so in a press conference.
"Chidambaram had also cautioned the UK against issuing travel document to Lalit Modi. He had clearly said that the issuance of a travel document to Lalit will spoil UK's relationship with India. NDA government is not releasing these documents of action taken by previous Congress-led government," he said.
