Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Madhya Pradesh's Shivraj Singh Chauhan at a meeting of Niti Aayog in Delhi (PTI photo)
Embattled Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje was not scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi or any top BJP leader during her visit to Delhi on Saturday, and the NITI Aayog meeting was the only fixture on her schedule. The clarification comes even as the opposition continues to demand her resignation over her links with tainted cricket boss Lalit Modi.
Party sources were tight-lipped on whether the Rajasthan Chief Minister had sought any appointment to meet either Prime Minister Narendra Modi or party President Amit Shah.
On her return, the Chief Minister's Office in Jaipur clarified that Ms Raje was not scheduled to meet anyone else, except attending the NITI Ayog meeting. "Such news are untrue and beyond reality, hence before broadcasting and publishing any such news it is advised to confirm it from the sources," said a statement from her office.
62-year-old Ms Raje's visit came a day after the central leadership of her party backed her, after holding out on voicing its support for days. The Rajasthan BJP has refuted all allegations against her, saying the document which she signed in support of Mr Modi's immigration application to the UK government was never produced in court as she had backed out of it later.
The state unit of the party also claimed that Mr Modi's investment in the chain of hotels owned by her son was legal and had been disclosed to authorities.
The top leadership of the party is learnt to have accepted Ms Raje's defence as Prime Minister Narendra Modi met BJP chief Amit Shah and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley yesterday over the issue.
The Congress has accused Ms Raje of quid pro quo in helping Mr Modi and launched a relentless attack on her, demanding her resignation.
Ms Raje has maintained silence over the raging row even though her office has termed the allegations "untrue", claiming that they were aimed at harming her politically.
The state BJP for its part has said it "fully supports" her. The party unit has called her its tallest and most popular leader in the state, where she has led the party to its biggest Assembly and Lok Sabha wins.