Why govt not making any efforts to bring Lalit back, asks Congress

Unrelenting in its attack over the Lalitgate controversy, Congress today wondered why the government was not making any efforts to bring former IPL boss Lalit Modi back to India.

Congress also termed as "condemnable" the reported allegations against President Pranab Mukherjee that he, as Finance Minister in the then UPA government, spearheaded the party's "revenge" politics against Lalit Modi.

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"Allegations against the President are condemnable. What the government is doing to bring him back? Why red corner notice has not been issued to him?"

"Why the government has not approached the Supreme Court to cancel passport issued to Lalit Modi?" Congress spokesman Meem Afzal asked, noting that till yesterday, Modi had been targeting former Finance Minister P Chidambaram and now he has trained his guns on the President.

Afzal attacked the government and BJP alleging that they were "shielding" External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.

Questioning the "silence" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the matter, Afzal asked whether Modi would break his silence only when he would be the target of attack by the former IPL chief, a fugitive and economic offender.

The government will have to say what action is being taken against the tainted cricket administrator, he said.

According to reports, the former IPL boss has accused Mukherjee of spearheading Congress's "revenge" politics against him for Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's resignation.

"It was clear even before Tharoor resigned that Congress was furious over my decision to reveal Tharoor's ownership interest in the Kochi bid," Modi had said in his plea to the UK authorities while seeking permission to stay "as a representative of an overseas business".

Modi also blamed Mukherjee for engineering the Enforcement Directorate's probe against him in retaliation to Tharoor's sacking as Minister of state for External Affairs, the reports stated.