Dismissing charges of helping lalit Modi as “baseless,” External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday made an emotional statement in the lok Sabha, saying she had not helped the former IPl Commissioner but his cancer-stricken wife and questioned if Congress president Sonia Gandhi would have acted differently if she had faced a similar situation.
Swaraj insisted that she had made “no request or recommendation” to the UK Government for giving travel documents to lalit Modi but had left the decision to Britain. The Minister said if she were to favour former IPl chief, she would have worded a letter saying “kindly give travel documents” or saying “I consider ‘the person’ deserved this”, etc. “What did I doIJ” Swaraj asked and maintained that she had left the decision on the issue with the British Government.
The External Affairs Minister said she had only told the British Government that relations with that country will not be affected if they choose to provide him travel documents to visit Portugal to be with his wife who was facing “life threatening” ailment and required immediate treatment which was full of risk.
“His wife has been suffering from cancer for the last 17 years and it is the 10th time it has recurred... I want to ask what Sonia Gandhi would have done had she been in my place. Would she have left her to die,” she said, reading from the reports of the Portugese doctors and the statement of Modi’s wife. She said if helping a woman was a crime then the House could accord me whatever punishment it deems fit for it.
Amid cheers from the Treasury Benches in the absence of boycotting members of the Congress and several Opposition parties, she said, “I challenge those making accusations against me to produce even one document, one chit or an e-mail to back their allegations.”
The demand from the Opposition, specifically from the Congress, for the resignation of Swaraj in the alleged lalitgate controversy has led to a prolonged logjam in both Houses of Parliament in the ongoing Monsoon session.
In the beginning of her statement, the Minister regretted that “her friends” in the Opposition have been targeting her and are not even ready to listen to her version on the issue.
In a philosophical twist, the Minister quoted author of “Ramcharitmanas” Tulsidas and hoped that the “Grahan” (eclipse) on her would clear soon.
The Minister said she had been waiting all the while since the Monsoon Session began on July 21 to make a statement and a discussion to clarify her position as “baseless” and “untrue” allegations were being levelled against her and “disinformation” is being carried out in the media repeatedly.
She also quoted a Indian newspaper report to substantiate her argument saying an English daily had sought a response from UK home department (on clearing travel documents for Modi) to which the British authorities replied in an e-mail that “appropriate rules” were followed to clear travel documents, Swaraj said.