Sushma's 'humanitarian' aid to Lalit Modi 'quite normal', says Salman Haider

Former foreign secretary Salman Haider on Sunday said that External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's 'humanitarian' aid to former IPL chairman Lalit Modi with the travel documents was 'quite normal'.

"There's a humanitarian issue involved. If the individual concerned needed to be with his spouse at a time when she was undergoing a serious medical problem then I don't see why anyone should regard that as offensive, I would regard that as quite normal," Haider told ANI here.

"The Indian citizens, as long as there isn't a very strong reason to the contrary, are entitled to have passports. We have certain rights as citizens of our country. If we apply for a passport, we should be given one," he added.

The External Affairs Minister had earlier admitted to helping Lalit Modi with his travel documents, but made it clear that she did so only on humanitarian grounds.

Amid calls for her resignation by the opposition parties, Swaraj tried to clarify her position via a series of tweets.

Swaraj said that she took a humanitarian view of Modi's case since his wife was suffering from cancer.

"Taking a humanitarian view, I conveyed to the British High Commissioner that "British Government should examine the request of Lalit Modi as per British rules and regulations. If the British Government chooses to give travel documents to Lalit Modi that will not spoil our bilateral relations," she tweeted.