BJP sheds reticence, defends Raje and rules out resignation

Shedding its reticence, the BJP today backed Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and ruled out her resignation or that of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on the Lalit Modi row even as Congress threatened to disrupt the Monsoon session of Parliament if they do not quit.

The BJP's defence came on a day Raje, who is facing a storm over her secret witness statement supporting the former IPL boss' immigration plea in Britain, cancelled her visit to Anandpur Sahib in Punjab where she would have met party president Amit Shah and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

The BJP had put up a muted defence of Swaraj when the controversy broke out on Sunday over her help to tainted Modi get British travel document saying she had acted on humanitarian considerations but offered no defence of Raje in the last two days.

Taking its attack to a new level, the Congress alleged a nexus between Lalit Modi, the Prime Minister, BJP President, Swaraj and Raje and said the only way for the government to "save" itself and the Parliament session is to make the two women leaders resign from their positions.

"We hope after Yoga Day and after 'Lalitasan', the Prime Minister will take some strong action," party leader Jairam Ramesh told reporters adding "there is no other way". Today, the BJP fielded its spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi at a press briefing in the party headquarters where he rejected the demands for resignation of the two top leaders.

The party strategy may have been apparently devised after separate meetings between Home Minister Rajnath Singh with the Prime Minister and between Amit Shah and the Prime Minister late last night. To questions whether there will be action against Swaraj or Raje, he said, "The question is imaginary There is no technical and legal base that you can say there is any point of impropriety."