Cong drags PM into Sushma-Lalit row

Aditi Tandon

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Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 10

Not one to ease the pressure on the government in the ongoing row surrounding former IPL chief Lalit Modi, the Congress today took its fight to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s door alleging “close proximity between him and the tainted cricket czar”.

For the first time since it began demanding the resignation of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for facilitating the UK travel documents to Lalit, wanted for financial frauds in India, the Congress alleged that the PM had complete knowledge of the “favouritism” extended to the IPL ex-boss and that “he knew more than we thought he did”.

It alleged that the PM’s proximity with Lalit meant he knew all about the External Affairs Ministry and the Indian High Commissioner to the UK being bypassed in August last year for grant of British travel documents to Lalit who had been living in London since 2010. Lalit absconded to London and is wanted in 17 cases by the Enforcement Directorate.

To drive its message home, the Congress fielded top lawyer and ex-Law Minister Kapil Sibal who recalled the events of September 2009 to allege a nexus between the then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi, his Home Minister of the time Amit Shah, industrialist Gautam Adani and the then IPL boss Lalit Modi.

Sibal alleged that soon after Narendra Modi became the President of the Gujarat Cricket Association on September 15, 2009, several events unfolded to show quid pro quo between him and Lalit Modi. “First, the day Narendra Modi and Amit Shah became President and vice-president, respectively of the GCA on September 15, 2009, they attended a BCCI meeting in Delhi where a decision was taken to hold four IPL matches in Gujarat. The quickness of the decision is revealed considering Gautam Adani became the commercial partner of the GCA when Narendra Modi became its president,” Sibal alleged.

He also cited how Lalit Modi at that time altered IPL tender conditions on two new team franchises to favour Adani and Videocop group.

“On December 17, 2009, the BCCI Governing Council finalised tenders. On February 22, 2010, Lalit Modi incorporated in the tenders two onerous clauses (bidder’s net worth must be $1 billion and he must offer Rs 460 crore upfront bank guarantee) to favour Adani and Videocon and push others out. An inquiry followed and the report dated June 10, 2013, signed by Arun Jaitley held Lalit Modi accountable for bid-rigging,” Sibal said.

Congress’ questions based on the evidence are: No FIR was lodged to probe the role of the then Gujarat CM and Home Minister in using their public office to benefit private people.

“What was the case against UPA ministers except that they used public office to benefit private persons? Why was an FIR not lodged in the role of former Gujarat CM and HM in getting Lalit Modi to alter contract conditions to favour two industrialists? PM Modi must speak up now that it’s clear that he knows more than we believed he did. Modi-Modi ki jugalbandi ka raaz kya hai…Modi ji bolne mein aitraaz kya hai?” Sibal asked. To a query on whether these revelations meant reduced culpability of foreign minister Sushma Swaraj whose resignation the Congress is seeking for helping Modi, Sibal said: “All we are saying is the PM knew what was happening.” The Congress didn’t demand the PM’s resignation though. Importantly former UPA minister Jyotoraditya Scindia, an IPL functionary in 2013, was signatory to the anti-Lalit Modi report but the Congress today said it learnt of the dealings only now.