Modi cannot brazen it out on Lalit Modi issue: Congress

The Congress on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot "brazen" it out on the controversy over External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj reportedly helping former IPL chief Lalit Modi.

"The prime minister cannot brazen it out. There cannot be a different rule book for the Modi government and others. Accountability cannot have different yardsticks," Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma told the media.

"It is the prime minister and his government who are purely responsible for the disruption in parliament," he said.

He rejected Sushma Swaraj's statement in Lok Sabha clarifying her stand on the Lalit Modi issue saying she cannot hide behind an "emotional" shield.

The Congress has been demanding Swaraj's resignation over helping Lalit Modi, whereas the minister said in the Lok Sabha on Thursday that she did not recommend to the British government that travel documents be given to the absconding former IPL chief who is facing prosecution by India's Enforcement Directorate.

She said she only told the British government that if the latter chose to give the travel documents to Lalit Modi, it would not spoil bilateral relations between the two countries.