Lalit Modi offered Board position to Sushma's husband

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was again targeted by the Opposition after reports emerged that former IPL chief Lalit Modi had offered her husband a position on the board of one of his companies,     Indofil.

The Opposition renewed its attack on Swaraj with the Congress saying that the “job offer” to the minister’s husband Swaraj Kaushal was a quid pro quo deal for facilitating his travel documents to the UK.

A news channel reported that Kaushal – who has been Lalit’s lawyer for over 20 years – was offered the post of Alternate Director on the Board of Directors of Indofil Industries in April. However, Kaushal had declined the offer.

Lalit’s father K K Modi, the chairman-cum-managing director of Indofil confirmed that such an offer was made but added that the proposal was withdrawn before it was considered by the Board.

The latest revelations brought the focus of the Opposition attack back on the external affairs minister, who had admitted to have helped Lalit get travel papers from the UK on “humanitarian grounds”. Lalit is under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate for allegations of money laundering. The renewed attack on Swaraj comes at a time when there was a perception building up that the Opposition was going soft on the minister and targeting Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje for backing Lalit’s immigration appeal to the UK.

The Congress claims that the then UPA government had told the UK government that facilitating Lalit’s travel documents would affect bilateral relations. It claims that Swaraj had “unilaterally” overturned this decision without even informing her ministry.

“Yes with a capital YES,” Singhvi said when asked whether the Congress was saying that the job offer was a quid pro quo deal for facilitating Lalit’s travel papers.

The BJP rejected the Congress’s charges contending that the allegations do not stand as Kaushal had rejected the offer.

“When he turned down the offer, what is the problem? Swaraj Kaushal has not hidden his professional links to Lalit Modi,” said BJP spokesman G V L Narasimha Rao.

Senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala accused the BJP of practising a policy of releasing criminals, terrorists and fugitives on “humanitarian grounds”. He said the then foreign minister Jaswant Singh had escorted terrorist Maulana Masood Azhar to Kandahar.

Demanding the sacking of Swaraj, he reminded the prime minister that the Congress had adhered to the “highest standards of propriety” by asking for resignation of Madhavsinh Solanki and Natwar Singh when allegations were made against them while they were external affairs ministers.

CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury demanded a court-appointed probe into the matter.