In a blistering attack on the Congress for seeking her resignation in the lalit Modi controversy, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday took the battle into the Gandhi family court by hitting party president Sonia Gandhi where it will hurt the most: the issues related to her alleged role in helping Bofors accused Ottavio Quattrocchi and her late husband Rajiv Gandhi’s hand in letting Bhopal gas leak accused Warren Anderson leave the country.
On the penultimate day of the month-long Session, which was paralysed over the Congress demand for Swaraj’s resignation, the two sides settled for a discussion on an adjournment motion that was often acrimonious.
At the end of the day, the adjournment motion was defeated by a voice after the Congress walked out of the House and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley rejected the demand for her resignation saying all the allegations against her “are baseless.” In a frontal attack that also captured the bitterness between Sushma and Sonia, the External Affairs Minister asked Rahul Gandhi to enquire of his “mamma” as to “how much money had been taken from Quattrocchi” and “why did ‘daddy’ (Rajiv Gandhi) get the killer of 15,000 people (in Bhopal gas leak) released,” an apparent reference to Anderson.
Swaraj, who has been battling demands for her resignation over alleged “quid pro quo” in relation to lalit Modi, said, “This is called quid pro quo... Rahul should ask (his mother), why they did the quid pro quo” with regard to Quattrocchi and Anderson.”
“You (Rahul) like going for vacations of and on. Next time when you go, read the history and ask to your mamma about the history of your family and their dealing with the likes of Quattrocchi. Ask your mamma how much money your family got from these deals,” Swaraj repeated her attacks on Gandhi family while the Treasury Benches supported with cheering and thumping at desk.
She accused Rajiv Gandhi of providing escape route to Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson for a swap deal with the US. “Rajiv Gandhi’s long time friend Adil Sharayar was jailed in the US for terror related case for 30 years. For saving his old time friend, Rajiv had let off Anderson. This is the secret deal. Not mine,” she said.
The Minister also rejected the Opposition charge that her husband and daughter had fought lalit Modi’s legal case. She said her husband was not a lawyer for lalit Modi in the passport case as alleged and that her daughter was the ninth lawyer in the list of advocates for lalit Modi and got “not even a rupee.” “Why should anybody give money to a junior lawyer who is 9th in the seniority row,” she asked.
While she spoke amid slogan-shouting by Congress members, Sonia Gandhi was seen listening to the speech in rapt attention using headphone. Swaraj also targeted former Union Minister P Chidambaram, saying he had failed to bring back lalit Modi from the United Kingdom as he did not try for his extradition as suggested by the host Government and confined his requests to deportation.
“For four years, you (Congress Government) did nothing. You remained inactive. There was no effort for extradition. You are asking me how he (lalit Modi) got right of residency (in the UK). He got it during your time. Whatever happened, it was during your tenure,” she told the Congress.
Swaraj, who spoke after Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge during a discussion on the lalit Modi issue, said it was only after Arun Jaitley took over as the Finance Minister that things have started moving on bringing back the former IPl boss.
While targeting Chidambaram, she said the Congress was divided on bringing back lalit Modi and the then Finance Minister was “alone” in his party in wanting action against him due to his “personal enmity”.
Swaraj said while Chidambaram wrote to his British counterpart, the Chancellor of Exchequer, seeking his deportation, he never pressed for extradition as suggested by the UK Government. Chidambaram had not even kept the External Affairs Ministry in the loop, she said.
When Swaraj started participating in the debate, it was opposed by Congress members who rushed into the Well. As they started raising slogans, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said Swaraj was free to “intervene’ as a member of the BJP.
“I am in politics for the past 38 years. Nobody made allegation against me. Now you people come out with such things against me to defame me and my family. For the past few weeks, you people were throwing all sort things against me. I won’t let you do this anymore,” said Sushma ending his speech.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said while Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will reply to the debate, Swaraj was free to speak. “Kharge attacked Swaraj for one hour. Now he should listen to her. Are questions posed by you to her so hollowIJ” quipped Jaitley.
Sushma Swaraj got a pat on her back by senior BJP leader lK Advani, who was visibly moved by her hard-hitting reply to the Congress charges on the lalit Modi controversy in the lok Sabha. During her 30-minute reply, Advani, seated by Swaraj’s side on the front row of the treasury benches, was seen overcome with emotions on a few occasions when his eyes welled up. She got a pat from the veteran BJP leader as she wound up her speech and sat down.