Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi
Rahul Gandhi offered some career advice to the Prime Minister today, urging him to "grab the opportunity" to bring disgraced cricket magnate Lalit Modi back to India. "After we lost the election, I thought (PM Modi) had it in him, but now we know, he doesn't have
dum (guts)," said Mr Gandhi, whose party has accused the ruling BJP's top leaders of illicit business links to the billionaire.
Mr Gandhi's tip-off for the PM is likely to trigger new deprecation by the PM's party, the BJP. Yesterday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley described the Congress Vice-President as "
an expert without knowledge."
Undaunted, Mr Gandhi, who delivered a sharp attack on the ruling party in Parliament yesterday, said the government, especially Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, still "owes the country" two answers. "How much money did her family receive from Lalit Modi?" he asked, followed by "Why did she keep her assistance to him a secret?"
The
monsoon session of Parliament ended today without transacting any business, held hostage to daily disruptions by the Congress demanding the removal of Mrs Swaraj.
The
minister told Parliament yesterday that she "made no mistake" by informing UK officials last year that India would not object if Lalit Modi was allowed to travel to Portugal to support his wife, a cancer patient, in her treatment there. The opposition has asked why Mrs Swaraj did not disclose this, given that her stand was a complete turnaround from that of the previous government led by the Congress. Mr Gandhi has also repeatedly alleged that Mrs Swaraj is guilty of conflict of interest, because her daughter and husband have served on Lalit Modi's legal team. The minister has denied any wrongdoing.
After founding the wildly successful, high-glam Indian Premier League in 2008, Lalit Modi fled to London two years later amid swirling corruption allegations. Last week, a non-bailable arrest warrant was issued against him in a case that accuses him of money-laundering and breaking foreign exchange laws.