Straining to be heard above a ceaseless chorus of slogans, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj explained to Parliament why her assistance to tainted cricket tycoon Lalit Modi is neither political nor moral folly, as alleged by the Opposition.
"I committed no mistake," Ms Swaraj said, as Congress members of the Lok Sabha chanted "yeh nahin chalega" (this is not acceptable).
The debate on "Lalitgate" began at the insistence of the Foreign Minister, who asserted this morning that she was ready "this very minute" to rebut the charges that she assisted a man wanted in India for grave financial crimes. The controversy has paralysed Parliament for its entire Monsoon Session, forcing the stalling of crucial legislation including the landmark GST tax reform. Till today, the Congress had insisted that it would not stop disrupting parliament till Ms Swaraj was removed from office, along with Chief Ministers Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who it has accused of corruption.
Rahul Gandhi, the Vice President of the Congress said the minister must explain why it was the media, and not she, who disclosed that last year, she told UK officials last year that India had no objection to Lalit Modi being allowed to accompany his wife to Portugal. Mr Gandhi also said the minister is obliged to reveal how much money Lalit Modi had paid her family, a reference to the fact that Mrs Swaraj's daughter and husband have served as lawyers for the billionaire, who fled India in 2010.
"I did nothing clandestine," the minister declared.. "Not a single penny was paid to my daughter for this case," she said, referring to the disgraced tycoon's successful fight to have his Indian passport reinstated. Mrs Swaraj said that while in power, the Congress had done little to force Lalit Modi to return home to face trial for charges of financial wrongdoing.
When Finance Minister Arun Jaitley replied on behalf of the government that Mrs Swaraj would not resign, the Congress had walked out of parliament in protest.
NDTV
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