Congress to Modi: Get off 'Lalitaasan' to resolve travel documents row

The Congress on Friday said there was a need for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to get off his 'Lalitaasan' as soon as possible and take steps to come clean on the move by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to facilitate travel documents for the former IPL czar.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, "It is important for Rajasthan chief minster to resign. I hope when the Prime Minister is done with his 'Lalitaasan', he would investigate the matter and take some concrete action."

"The close relations between Lalit Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's family and between Lalit Modi and Rajasthan Chief Minister's family can be seen clearly and it's not possible that the Prime Minister is unaware of the whole matter as even he is involved. They are trying to hide the truth," he said.

"Congress is of the view that whoever has committed a wrong, irrespective of party must be found guilty or innocent after due process of law. The Central Government is caught in a trap of its own making and the only way it can save itself is by getting resignation of the External Affairs Minister and Rajasthan Chief Minister. Being friends is not a crime but making use of friendship to break the law is a crime," he added.

Lalit Modi's legal counsel Mehmood Abdi had earlier claimed that the former IPL chief was being hounded by the UPA Government both in India and during his extended stay in London.

Meanwhile, in more trouble for the BJP, which has been defending External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, despite opposition demands that she be sacked for helping Lalit Modi, the former IPL boss has claimed that Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje secretly supported his immigration plea in Britain.