File Photo: Chief Minister of Rajasthan Vasundhara Raje. (Reuters)
Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje is precariously placed with allegations that she provided secret support for cricket boss Lalit Modi when he asked the UK to extend his stay in London. At the time, in 2011, Mr Modi's passport had been revoked by India, and he was embroiled in a series of cases of graft embedded in the Indian Premier League that he founded in 2008.
As the news broke last week that Mr Modi, 49, had been backed by Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj last year in a request to UK officials to allow him to travel to Portugal, his PR agency released a 250-page file to share the details of his immigration application.
Tucked into that dossier is what Mr Modi's team offers as support of Mrs Raje's help to him. In an application made in October 2011 to immigration officials in the UK, Mr Modi asked for an "Anonymity" clause through his legal representative Joseph Levtov.
"Mr Modi anticipates the use of witness evidence in the process of this appeal and due to the risks outlined above, unless anonymity is granted, witnesses may be deterred from testifying," his application reads. Sources say that the request for anonymity signals that Mrs Raje had indeed sought cover.
"Mr Modi anticipates the use of witness evidence in the process of this appeal and due to the risks outlined above, unless anonymity is granted, witnesses may be deterred from testifying," his application reads.
Mr Modi claims that Mrs Raje, who led the BJP to victory in the 2013 election in Rajasthan, provided a "secret statement" to bolster his case. She has said she has no information about this document. An unsigned and incomplete affidavit in the file released by Mr Modi has her declaring, "I make this statement in support of any immigration application that Lalit Modi makes, but do so on the strict condition that my assistance will not become known to Indian authorities."
Mr Modi has said that a signed version of Mrs Raje's statement is available with UK courts that handled his application.
Sources in the BJP, which has not jumped to Mrs Raje's defence, say that if it emerges that she did offer confidential vouchsafe for Mr Modi, she will have to fight hard to remain in office.
Mr Modi also sought anonymity and closed door proceedings for his case claiming that disclosure of his request for UK citizenship would be portrayed in India as an act of "extreme disloyalty." His lawyers also claimed it could result in additional threats and criminal allegations for him and his family members in India.