Did No Wrong, Says Sushma Swaraj Amid Ceaseless Congress Chants

New Delhi:  Straining to be heard above a ceaseless chorus of slogans, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj tried to explain to Parliament why her assistance to tainted cricket tycoon Lalit Modi is neither political nor moral folly, as alleged by the Opposition.

“I repeat I committed no mistake,” Ms Swaraj said, as Congress members of the Lok Sabha chanted “yeh nahin chalega” (this is not acceptable).

Both Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said Ms Swaraj was being wronged by being denied the chance to be heard, but the Opposition remained unmoved, reiterating noisily that the minister must resign.

The debate on “Lalitgate” began at the insistence of the Foreign Minister, who asserted this morning that she was ready “this very minute” to rebut the charges that she assisted a man wanted in India for grave financial crimes. The controversy has paralysed Parliament for its entire Monsoon Session, forcing the stalling of crucial legislation including the landmark GST tax reform.

Till today, the Congress had insisted that it would not stop disrupting parliament till Ms Swaraj was removed from office, along with Chief Ministers Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who it has accused of corruption.

Mallikarjun Kharge, who leads the Congress in the Lok Sabha, said Ms Swaraj had reversed the stand of the earlier government by secretly informing UK officials last year that India had no objection to Lalit Modi being allowed to accompany his wife to Portugal. Why was this not disclosed, he asked, presenting a list of seven questions for the government.

“I did nothing clandestine,” replied the minister. She also refuted allegation of a conflict of interest based on her husband and daughter serving as Lalit Modi’s lawyers. “Not a single penny was paid to my daughter for this case,” she said, referring to the disgraced tycoon’s successful fight to have his Indian passport reinstated.