Congress seeks 'decisive' reply from PM on Lalit Modi row

The Congress on Thursday demanded a "decisive" reply from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Lalit Modi controversy while clarifying that it was not mulling any legal recourse against the government as of now.

"The silence of the prime minister is deafening. He must tell the people of India about his views," Congress leader C.P. Joshi told the media here.

Joshi also asked the prime minister to clarify whether External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj took the decision to give the go-ahead for travel documents for Lalit Modi as an individual minister or on behalf of the entire government.

"He (the prime minister) should give a quick reply. He should put forward his views in a decisive manner," he said.

The former union minister from Rajasthan also sought the resignation of the state chief minister, Vasundhara Raje, and asked the RSS to clarify its stand on her.

"For Sushma ji (Swaraj), RSS has spoken, but in the case of Vasundhara Raje, RSS is silent," Joshi said, adding that the Congress demanded the resignation of Vasundhara Raje.

"We request BJP president Amit Shah to sack her immediately," he added.

The external affairs minister as well as the Rajasthan chief minister are facing flak for their association with former IPL chief Lalit Modi, who is wanted by the Enforcement Directorate for alleged financial impropriety in the money-spinning IPL. Modi is currently living in London.

Joshi also sought to know whether the transactions between Vasundhara Raje's son Dushyant Singh and Lalit Modi were a black money transaction.

The Congress, which has mounted a multi-pronged attack on the Modi government over the issue, said it will continue to put political pressure but was not planning to approach a court as of now.

"There is no plan of this as of now," K.C. Mittal, secretary of the party's legal and human rights department, told IANS.

Another senior party functionary said: "Why should we go to court? Our job is to put political pressure."

Terming the conduct of Sushma Swaraj and Vasundhara Raje as "constitutional impropriety", the party on Wednesday named the sections of the Indian Penal Code under which they have violated the law.