But She Didn't Testify for Lalit Modi in Court: BJP Defends Vasundhara Raje

New Delhi: The BJP today said that Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje backed the immigration appeal of tainted cricket tycoon Lalit Modi, but did not testify in court on his behalf.  The party's defense comes as the opposition has demanded the resignation of Ms Raje, 62, for supporting a man wanted for financial crimes in India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the crisis with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, said sources, who added that Mr Jaitley then met with BJP chief Amit Shah to outline the party strategy.

"Did she go and depose there (in the UK)? No. There was no action that finally took place of her behalf," said  BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli, adding that Ms Raje's statement was made in 2011  "in her personal capacity, not in her capacity as Leader of Opposition in Rajasthan." 

In the contentious document Mrs Raje declared the vast investigation in India against Mr Modi was "politically motivated". The affidavit, provided by Mr Modi to a UK court, was leaked this week, cornering Mrs Raje who had earlier said that she was unaware of the document.

Ms Raje has privately defended her case to the BJP's top bosses by arguing that after Mr Modi persuaded her to sign the statement, she had a change of heart as exemplified by the fact that she did not testify for him in a UK court. Without her deposition, the incriminating affidavit amounts to only "a proposed witness statement... intent, but not action," said sources.

But arguments like those are unlikely to tamp down the political controversy, something the BJP concedes privately. Ms Raje, in her affidavit, asked that her identity not be revealed to Indian authorities.