No Longer 'Secret': Vasundhara Raje's Signed Support for Lalit Modi is Released

In a signed statement, top BJP leader Vasundhara Raje described the expansive investigation against cricket tycoon Lalit Modi as "a full frontal attack" that was "politically motivated."

That affidavit, allegedly presented to a UK court in 2011, was released by the Congress yesterday as it demanded Mrs Raje's dismissal as Rajasthan Chief Minister for supporting a man wanted in corruption cases in India.  

Sources in the BJP say the party has asked Mrs Raje to explain the signed affidavit, though spokesperson Sambit Patra said to NDTV "the authenticity of the document has yet to be established." The state BJP, which is backing Ms Raje, said the Central leadership has not asked for any explanation.

On June 16, Mrs Raje denied any knowledge of the document after Mr Modi, who now lives in London, outed it in a television interview and underscored that the politician had sought a legal guarantee of confidentiality for her statement.

"She has been lying all along," senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said on Wednesday evening, holding up the seven-page document that carries Mrs Raje's signature.   

When Lalit Modi furnished Mrs Raje's document to a UK court, the Congress-led UPA coalition was in power, he had fled to London amid a series of corruption cases linked to his stint as chief of the Indian Premier League, and his passport had been cancelled by India.  

Last year, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj backed another request by him in the UK for urgent travel documents. The minister, whose husband and daughter have worked as lawyers for Mr Modi, said her intervention was humanitarian, because he needed to travel to help his ailing wife.

The Congress, voted out last year amid corruption scandals, has warned of plans to disrupt Parliament when it opens for the monsoon session next month, unless Mrs Swaraj and Mrs Raje resign, a prospect ruled out yesterday by Home Minister Rajnath Singh.