Lalit Modi alleges Rahul Gandhi was beneficiary of his hospitality

Former IPL chief Lalit Modi has alleged that Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and his brother-in-law Robert Vadra were beneficiaries during his tenure as IPL commissioner.

Congress sources, however, dismissed the allegations and termed them baseless.

Congress leader Ajay Maken said Lalit Modi was trying to help the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

Lalit Modi late Friday posted on Twitter a couple of his pictures with Rahul Gandhi and Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, in the same frame.

Modi tweeted: "I hope @OfficeOfRG (office of Rahul Gandhi) informed @INCIndia that he was a beneficiary of my hospitality. He sat in my box."

The picture, which appears to be from an IPL match, also has Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, his wife Gauri Khan and actress Deepika Padukone along with others.

Modi also asked if they (Rahul Gandhi and Vadra) had declared it to the Congress leadership.

Modi, who has been described as a "fugitive" by the Congress and is wanted by the Enforcement Directorate for alleged financial impropriety, tweeted: "My Q to #rahulgandhi and #robertvadra did you ever receive any hospitality from @lalitkmodi - and did u declare it to @INCIndia #lalitgate."

Congress spokesperson Maken, however, accused Lalit Modi of trying to help the BJP through the pictures. "Chotta Modi is trying to help Bada Modi by tweeting images to help the ruling party," Maken said.

Posting the photographs, Lalit Modi also said they were not altered.

Lalit Modi also tweeted in response of a tweeter handler: "That will never happen I am not into politics. But a NGO next stop. And never Modi vs Modi. Modi vs Gandhi yes."

He was asked by a twitter handler @karmritesh: "Support for @LalitKModi is growing in the runup to clean cricket & politics; going to see #ModiVsModi in next Election! #CongressMuktBharat."

He has been tweeting regularly, often implying nothing more than a meeting with political figures.

Earlier, Lalit Modi tweeted that he "bumped into" Congress president Sonia Gandhi's daughter Priyanka and her husband Robert Vadra in a London restaurant last year.

He had also tweeted that Congress leader Kapil Sibal had chatted over three days during a wedding in Istanbul.

Lalit Modi's links with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje have kicked off a political storm, with the Congress demanding their resignations.

Lalit Modi has continued his belligerent attack on leaders across party lines, dragging BJP MP Varun Gandhi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley as well as Congress MP Rajeev Shukla into the controversy.