File photo of Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje
The BJP today said that while Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje backed the immigration appeal of tainted cricket tycoon Lalit Modi, she did not testify in court on his behalf. A signed statement by her is not a legal document, her party said, adding that she sought confidentiality from UK officials because she feared political payback in India from the Congress, which was then in power at the Centre and in her home state.
With those arguments, the BJP has made it clear that it will support Ms Raje, 62, against the opposition which has demanded her resignation or supporting a man wanted for financial crimes in India.
"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. The affidavit was "only a draft, it has no legal sanctity," said Ashok Parnami, the president of the BJP in Rajasthan, adding that at the time, Mr Modi had not been declared a fugitive for avoiding investigations at home.
BJP chief Amit Shah met Prime Minister Narendra Modi this evening, their first meeting since this controversy made headlines.
In the contentious document Ms 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 Ms Raje who had earlier said that she was unaware of the document.
In her affidavit, Ms Raje asked that her identity not be revealed to Indian authorities. The Opposition Congress has said this proves she was aware that her support was illicit. However, Rajasthan BJP chief Mr Parnami said today that Ms Raje, who was not in power then, wanted to avoid vendetta from the Congress which was targeting Mr Modi in what she described in her statement as "a full frontal attack" that was "politically motivated."