Congress protests outside Sushma Swaraj's residence

Congress Party activists staged protests outside External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's residence in Central Delhi on Monday, and repeatedly demanded her resignation over her role in facilitating the clearance of travel documents for former IPL chief Lalit Modi.

They said Swaraj owed an explanation to the country regarding her alleged role in the expedition of former Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi's travel papers from the United Kingdom to Portugal despite the red alert issued by the government.

Swaraj had yesterday said she had taken a humanitarian view of Lalit Modi's case since his wife was suffering from cancer.

She further said that British MP Keith Vaz had spoken to her on the same, adding she believes that giving an Indian citizen 'emergency travel documents' cannot spoil relations between India and the UK.

Vaz, who is facing an inquiry in the UK over the role he played in Modi receiving his travel papers, said that he had checked with the Indian Government before taking any action and added that he had received a 'no objection' from New Delhi.