The Narendra Modi government is on the backfoot over former Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi visa row, involving External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.
According to sources, the government is keen on resolving the controversy before the onset of the Monsoon Session of Parliament.
Keeping in mind how aggressively the Congress and other opposition parties have launched an offensive on the issue, the Narendra Modi government is worried that key reform bills like GST and Land will get further delayed.
Sources said that both the Congress and the Left have made it clear that they will not let Parliament function unless this issue is resolved. Notably, the NDA government was keen on the Congress help in getting the GST bill passed, but the party has refused all cooperation.
The government is making attempts to battle out the crisis, both legally as well as politically, sources told CNN-IBN. It is likely to expedite cases against the former IPL commissioner in India.
Sources further said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself was looking for ideas to fight the perception battle along with his think tank.
Meanwhile, Raje cancelled her scheduled trip to Ananthpur Sahab in Punjab, where she was slated to meet Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Friday.
It was also learnt that the NDA government had asked senior leaders in Rajasthan to access the fallout of the controversy in the state. Notably, while the government has rallied strongly behind Sushma Swaraj over the controversy, it has refrained from presenting any strong defence for Raje.
This comes a day after Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh met the Prime Minister in the national capital on Thursday, reportedly to discuss the fallout of the Lalit Modi controversy and the government strategy to tackle it.
Comments
0 comment