Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Vice-President Rahul Gandhi and former PM Manmohan Singh at the Congress protest outside Parliament (Press Trust of India photo)
Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, the top two leaders of the Congress, dramatically amplified their party's attack on Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj today, branding her an "an expert in theatrics" whose family received money from tainted cricket tycoon Lalit Modi to "stay out of jail".
The Gandhis cut loose with their latest charges from the frontlines of their party's protests at Parliament against the suspension of 25 Congress MPs for disorderly behavior.
Despite the five-day ban on those MPs, the Congress is adamant that it will not stop disrupting Parliament till the government removes three top leaders, including the Foreign Minister, from office.
Mrs Swaraj's resignation is being sought for the scandal dubbed "Lalitgate" - last year, the UK government granted travel documents to Lalit Modi after she said the decision would not dent relations with India. Mr Gandhi pointed out today that the minister "maintained complete secrecy" about this conversation, an indication, he said, of wrong doing. "Sushma
ji's family has received money from Mr Lalit Modi... she should tell the country exactly how much money has Lalit Modi paid her family to keep him out of jail," the Congress Vice-President charged.
Sonia Gandhi, son Rahul at the Congress protest outside Parliament (PTI photo)
Lalit Modi, the founder of the wildly-successful Indian Premier League or IPL, moved to London in 2010 amid a whorl of corruption cases. He has refused to return home to face trial, citing death threats from the underworld.
In a defense with a high EQ, the Foreign Minister told Parliament yesterday that any assistance she provided for Lalit Modi's travel was "on humanitarian grounds" for his wife, a cancer patient, wanted her husband to accompany her to Portugal. "Lalit Modi's wife is innocent, has broken no laws... I want to ask Sonia Gandhi, what would she have done in my place?" the minister had asked.
"I would have helped but without breaking the law," retorted Mrs Gandhi, dismissing Mrs Swaraj's speech in Parliament as proof that she is "an expert in theatrics."