Sushma must step down for helping 'absconder' Lalit Modi: Congress

Congress leader Pramod Tiwari on Monday reiterated his party's demand that Sushma Swaraj should tender her resignation for helping an absconder Lalit Modi and said that the parliamentary proceedings will continue to be disrupted till the External Affairs Minister steps down.

"Our stand is clear. Sushma ji has violated the law by helping an absconder. The House will not function until she resigns," Tiwari told ANI.

Rubbishing all allegations against her, Swaraj today told the Rajya Sabha that she never favoured the former IPL chief.

"I did no wrong as Foreign Minister..... I have been trying to clarify for the last seven days...I never made request to UK on behalf of Lalit Modi," she said.

The government is holding an all-party meet today in a fresh attempt to end the two-week long impasse in the Parliament.

Half of the Monsoon Session of Parliament has been squandered to disruptions over the opposition's demand for the removal of BJP leaders.

The government is, however, adamant on this issue and ruled out the demands for resignations.

The others whose removal the Congress is demanding are Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, also caught in Lalit Gate, and her Madhya Pradesh counterpart Shivraj Singh Chouhan over the Vyapam recruitment scam.