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As Lalit Modi tweeted about "happy to meet the Gandhi family" and running into "Priyanka and Robert Vadra", the party's communication chief Randeep Surjewala denied it outright, saying a "run-in at a restaurant one-and-a-half years ago cannot be described as a meeting". The Congress described the development as a diversionary tactic. Soon after Modi's tweets, a delighted BJP had attempted to put the Congress on the mat.
"I can say with full responsibility that neither Priyanka Gandhi nor Robert Vadra ever interacted with Lalit Modi socially. If you see somebody in a restaurant, it is not a crime," Surjewala told reporters. "It is a diversionary tactic. The government should speak about the real issue."
Congress leader CP Joshi alleged a quid pro quo in an agreement between the Rajasthan government led by Vasundhara Raje and Modi. Lashing out at the BJP's brand of patriotism and nationalism that helped hoarders of black money, Congress demanded Raje's resignation.
The medical education department of Rajasthan and the Champalimaud Foundation of Portugal, where Modi's wife was treated for cancer, had signed a memorandum of understanding on October 2 last year for establishing a centre of excellence in Jaipur for cancer care.
Alleging that this agreement flouted rules, Joshi said, "Raje had accompanied Meenal Modi, wife of Lalit Modi, to the Champalimaud Foundation twice in 2012 and 2013."
