Sushma Swaraj maintains silence on Lalit Gate

Senior officials including NSA Ajit Doval politely told TV reporters to move away and refrain from asking her any questions

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj maintained silence and refused to offer any comment on resignation speculations or the Lalit Modi issue on Friday.

Senior officials of the government, including National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, politely told television channel reporters to move away and refrain from asking the minister any questions.

Swaraj has denied the allegations and said on social media she was helping Lalit Modi, who is presently based in London, on "humanitarian" grounds as he needed to visit his "ailing wife" in Portugal.

On Thursday, BJP chief Amit Shah reportedly discussed the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Reports quoted sources, as saying that both discussed damage-control measures to counter the demand for the resignations of Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje.

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The meeting is said to have taken place after the Prime Minister's interaction with a delegation of farmers from Uttar Pradesh at his official 7, Race Course Road residence.

Reports have also emerged of Shah being in touch with the RSS leadership on the issue.

The top brass of the BJP is fully supportive of Swaraj, and openly backing Raje.

Meanwhile, Raje on Friday cancelled her visit to Punjab where she would have come face-to-face with Shah for the first time since the damaging revelations that she allegedly favoured Lalit Modi's immigration plea in London.

Raje was scheduled to share the dais with Shah and Union home minister Rajnath Singh at the function in Anandpur Sahib celebrating 350 years of the key Sikh shrine, but she called it off citing ill health.