New Delhi: As BJP battled a deepening row involving two of its top leaders Vasundhara Raje and Sushma Swaraj, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday demanded release of all letters written to British authorities on the Lalit Modi case during the UPA rule which he said will answer accusations against Congress and him.
The Congress also demanded the resignation of the Rajasthan Chief Minister Raje and External Affairs Minister Swaraj for helping Modi, tainted former IPL Commissioner, "an economic offender and a fugitive".
The Congress' escalation of the attack came the morning after Modi's explosive claims that Raje had supported in writing his immigration plea in Britain and that he has a "family" relationship with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj whose husband and daughter had provided legal services "free of cost".
"The complete answer to Mr Lalit Modi's accusations against UPA can be found in the letters to the UK Chancellor. Release them," Chidambaram, a senior Congress leader, tweeted today.
More than two years ago as Finance Minister, Chidambaram had asked the British government why it was not taking action against Modi, former IPL chief who had taken refuge in London after he was accused of a wide range of financial impropriety, including money laundering.
Chidambaram had taken up the issue during his meeting with the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne in 2013. He had wanted Britain to deport him as Modi's passport was impounded in India and his UK visa had run out.
With the latest revelations in Modigate drawing Vasundhra Raje into the controversy, Congress spokesperson Shobha Ojha demanded that Raje and Swaraj should step down for helping Modi.
She also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying his silence in the matter so far showed that "there is a mute support by the PM to these leaders".
Meanwhile, holidaying in the tiny Balkan nation of Montenegro, Modi said Raje had accompanied his wife to Portugal for her cancer treatment two years ago. Raje became chief minister of Rajasthan for the second time in December 2013.
The comments of the tainted former IPL Commissioner assume significance because it came hours after it was reported that Raje had given a "Witness Statement" in August 2011 to British authorities supporting his case for immigration in Britain which he has made his base after fleeing from India where he faces serious charges of money laundering and FEMA violations.
Raje's purported "witness statement" was made public earlier in the day on behalf of the Modi camp but later in the night the Chief Minister said she was not aware of this document.
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