Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said there is no question of the government going on the back foot over the Lalit Modi controversy as it has done nothing wrong. (Press Trust of India)
The government will "play by the rulebook" to ensure that the cases against cricket boss Lalit Modi are thoroughly investigated, said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today.
Mr Jaitley has been criticised for the Opposition for what it described as a premature all-clear for a controversial Rs 11-crore business deal between Mr Modi and the son of one of the BJP's top leaders, Vasundhara Raje, the Chief Minister of Rajasthan. "The government has done no wrong, there is no question of going on the backfoot," Mr Jaitley said today, according to the Press Trust of India (PTI).
Earlier this week, Mr Jaitley was quoted by PTI as saying that the "commercial transaction" involving Mrs Raje's son had been "paid by check with all banking approvals". The Opposition Congress said that statement signaled the BJP's intent to protect Mrs Raje, who enjoyed a close friendship with Mr Modi till a few years ago.
Mr Jaitley ,who is in the US, said yesterday that his remarks on her son's deal with Mr Modi had been misreported, and that investigators continue to scrutinise the transaction.
The BJP was slow in coming to the defence of Mrs Raje after Mr Modi recently that she had provided a "secret" document to UK courts backing his appeal for immigration. Mr Modi founded the cash-rich Indian Premier League in 2008, then moved to London in 2010 after being named in a series of corruption and money-laundering cases. He has refused to appear in Indian courts to face charges, alleging death threats from the underworld.
In 2008 and 2009, Mr Modi bought shares at Rs 96,000 each in a firm owned by Mrs Raje's son, Dushyant Singh, who in his own tax returns, evaluated his shares in the same firm to be worth just Rs 10 each. Mr Modi also provided an unsecured loan of Rs 3 crore to Mr Singh's firm. Mr Singh, a 41-year-old lawmaker, has said that he declared the transaction and paid all due taxes.