Govt may revoke Lalit Modi's passport; Frmr FM slams Swaraj

The Congress seems to be in no mood to relent over former Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi's travel papers controversy, involving External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.

Addressing a press conference in the national capital on Wednesday, former finance minister P Chidambaram stepped up the attack on Swaraj, saying her conduct in the issue raises several questions.

Pointing that Lalit Modi's passport was cancelled in 2010 as per a request from the Enforcement Directorate, Chidambaram asked the Narendra Modi government to answer as to who took the decision to issue a fresh passport.

Justifying all action taken against Lalit Modi during the regime of the previous UPA government, the Congress leader demanded that the letters exchanged between him and UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, must be released by the NDA government.

Referring to Sushma Swaraj's "humanitarian ground" claim, the former Union minister said that the foreign minister should have used the opportunity to "insist" that Lalit Modi must "first return to India", following which the government could have provided temporary travel documents to him to go to Portugal.

He also said that a person requires a long-term visa and permit to stay in a foreign country, and the government should have taken up the issue with UK authorities, given the serious charges being faced by the former IPL commissioner.

"Mr Lalit Modi is an Indian citizen, what steps are being taken by the government to prosecute him under Indian laws?" asked the Congress leader during the press conference.

When asked about Lalit Modi's claim of the UPA government "hounding" him, Chidambaram said, "If UPA was hounding him, why did Finance Minister Arun Jaitley confirm that notices were issued against him in most of the cases?"

Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue, the former UPA minister said, "I assume PM Modi takes responsibility of Sushma Swaraj's action," citing that Jaitley had on Tuesday said that the government was "collectively responsible" for the foreign minister's action.