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Rejecting allegations of vendetta levelled against him and the United Progressive Alliance, former finance minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday demanded that the government should ensure that Lalit Modi returns to India to face the probe by the Enforcement Directorate on various charges, including money laundering.
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Addressing a press conference, he said External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's action in helping the tainted former Indian Premier League boss get travel documents from the United Kingdom was in violation of rules and a case of favouritism shown to someone she knew. He also demanded as to who decided not to appeal against the Delhi high court decision to restore the passport of Modi last year as normally a reversing decision is always challenged in a higher court.
The Congress leader wanted the government to release the letters exchanged between him as finance minister and the Chancellor of Exchequer George Osborne in which he had urged for sending Modi back to India since he was facing criminal charges. He said after the reply to his first letter, he had written a second letter couched in stronger words to Osborne that Modi was facing investigations in India, his passport has been revoked, he had no right to live in the UK and he should be sent back to India.
Chidambaram raised the question if Swaraj wanted to help Modi as a humanitarian gesture as was being claimed why did she not write to the Indian High Commission and ask for the issue of Indian travel documents to him instead of recommending issue of UK travel documents.
Chidambaram demanded disclosure of file notings in the ministry of external affairs about who decided not to appeal against the high court order. "Someone had taken the decision and I would like to know who took it." "When a division bench of the high court sets aside cancellation of Lalit Modi's passport, who took the decision not to file an appeal in the Supreme Court. Was the ED at whose instance the passport was cancelled consulted in the matter? Furthermore, who took the decision to issue a fresh passport to Lalit Modi. Will the government make public file notings," he said.
The former minister said Modi was an Indian passport holder and his stay in London without visa was in violation of all rules and that was one of the grounds on which his return was demanded. "Why did Swaraj help him get a long term visa or a residency of Britain when he was facing serious criminal charges in India," Chidambaram said.
If it was a question of humanitarian ground, then why did she not stress on Modi's return to India to face charges while helping him get travel documents, he said adding it was clearly a case of abuse of authority and violations of rules. The charges under provisions of FEMA and Money Laundering Act were serious criminal offences levelled against Modi, he said.
On the charge of vendetta he said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's reply on that notices in 15 of the 16 cases against Modi still stood spoke for itself. Asked why Modi was not barred from leaving India in 2010, the former finance minister said, "At that time there was no ban on his travel and that it was only a stage of inquiry. Why do you assume he will not return."
Asked about the prime minister's silence, he referred to Jaitley's reply yesterday that the whole government shared a collective responsibility for decisions taken by a minister and said, "I assume that the prime minister takes responsibility as PM."
Replying to other questions, Chidambaram said on the basis of facts disclosed so far it was an abuse of authority and violation of rules. To a question about the defence by the BJP of Swaraj after the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh came out in her support, he said, "It shows who is the master." To a BJP charge that the Congress has raked up the issue because there are woman leaders, he said it was rubbish and told journalists not to lend dignity to such allegations by raising them.
On Modi’s charges against the UPA, Chidambaram said, “The charges are laughable and do not deserve a reply. The complete answer to the charges can be found to in the letters exchanged between Osborne and me.
“In a way, Arun Jaitley, the finance minister, has repelled the charges by confirming that the ED was indeed investigating 16 cases against Lalit Modi and had issued show cause notices to him in 15 of those 16 cases. However, the matter does not end there,” he said in a statement in which he raised seven questions to the government.
“The conduct of Sushma Swaraj, the external affairs minister, in facilitating the issue of travel document to Lalit Modi when his passport stood cancelled and hew was avoiding an enquiry by the ED also raised a number of important questions,” the statement said.
In one of the questions, Chidambaram said a passport is a document to travel and to stay in a foreign country, one required a visa or a permit from that country.
“Has the government of India lodged with the UK government its objections to the grant of a long term visa or residency permit to Lalit Modi who has refused to appear before the ED?” he asked.
“Lalit Modi now has an Indian passport. He is an Indian passport. He is an Indian citizen subject to Indian laws. What steps has the government taken since the issue of a fresh passport to enforce the summons issued by the ED?” Chidambaram asked.
“What is the government’s answer to Lalit Modi’s wild charge that his life will be in danger if he returned to India? Is the National Democratic Alliance government incapable of protecting an Indian citizen who is required by the ED to appear for an inquiry,” he said.
Image: Former finance minister P Chidambaram