The BJP appears to be backing Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, who is embroiled in a controversy over supporting disgraced cricket tycoon Lalit Modi's immigration appeal to UK in 2011. In Delhi, posting an exclusively strong defence for Ms Raje, top government sources denied the charge against her that she helped Lalit Modi, who, the Congress claims, is a fugitive.
Sources said Mr Modi faces charges under the Foreign Exchange Maintenance Act or FEMA, which does not have provisions for arrest. A senior leader said the NDA government had "inherited" this fault from the UPA regime, as FEMA involves only recoveries not arrest, and that's why technically Lalit Modi cannot be termed a "fugitive".
Going a step further in an attempt to prove that helping Mr Modi was not a government agenda, a senior leader said the government is keen amend the lacunae soon.
Last night, the Congress released a seven-page affidavit signed by Ms Raje, in which she described the Indian investigation against Mr Modi as "a full frontal attack" that was "politically motivated."
Union Minister Arun Jaitley, who returned from the US today, defended Ms Raje, saying, "There is nobody who is tainted". Union minister Venkaiah Naidu said, "As far as party is concerned, everything is happening positively."
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