Congress questions Modi's silence, says he too is liable

Congress yesterday questioned Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's continued "silence" in the Lalitgate and asked him to come out of his "meditation" and answer the nation as he too is "liable".

"It is ordinance raj. All mantris have become tantris. The prime minister knows everything. But he is unaware when external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj was talking to UK authorities on Lalit Modi's travel documents," Congress spokesman Tom Vadakkan told reporters in Delhi.

"That means, there was consent of the Prime Minister (for granting travel documents to Lalit Modi)...he is liable. Prime Minister Modi should come out of political Vipassana, and keep truth before the nation," Tom Vadakkan said.

Asked about reports of scam-tainted former IPL chief Lalit Modi hosting Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor and Rajiv Shukla too, Vadakkan said they did not hold any official post unlike Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje and hence, there was no quid pro quo.

According to media reports, ex-IPL chief had hosted Tharoor, Shukla and Raje at a Mumbai hotel in 2010. Raje was the leader of opposition in Rajasthan assembly then.

"Now it has come to fore that the then leader of opposition in Rajasthan, who is the chief minister now, her bills were paid by IPL. Those who are against us will say Tharoor was there, Shukla was there, (NCP chief Sharad) Pawar was there, but they were not leader of opposition. In Raje's case, it is proved there was quid pro quo," he claimed.

Meanwhile, Indian law minister yesterday sought to drag the Congress into the controversy raging over some of its key leaders' questionable links with Lalit Modi, saying the former IPL boss committed all offences during the UPA rule but it took no action against him.

He insisted that Swaraj supported Modi, accused of laundering money to the tune of over Rs 700 crore, due to "humanitarian concern" over the health of his wife.