Opposition parties have demanded the resignation of external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj’s after she acknowledged that she had helped controversial IPL chief Lalit Modi in his efforts to procure the British travel documents on “humanitarian grounds”. Swaraj had made the clarification through a series of tweets after a recent expose by a British newspaper stating that Keith Vaz, the well-known British MP of Indian origin, used the external affairs minister’s name to pressure the Britain’s top immigration officials to grant travel papers to Modi.
As an External Affairs minister, Sushma Swaraj has won the hearts of many by reaching out and helping Indians in trouble.
Few days back, Neha Agarwal Parikh, an analyst with a credit rating agency, tweeted a request to Swaraj for help to get her parents out of a tricky situation and immediately got her attention. Swaraj, ever the saviour, stepped in and quickly expedited the matter.
An Indian national, Agratha Dinakaran, tweeted that she had lost her passport and all her money while in Berlin. Swaraj's official twitter handle tweeted back at her asking her for her phone number and assured her that the Indian embassy in Berlin will be contacting her.
A month before the Germany incident, a woman in Yemen tweeted out a picture of her baby, asking for evacuation. Sushma Swaraj replied to her personally, ensuring evacuation.
India extended a helping hand to many nations during the Yemen crisis and it earned both, India and Swaraj, great acclaim.
“Taking a humanitarian view, I conveyed to the British High Commissioner that “British Government should examine the request of Lalit Modi as per British rules and regulations. If the British Government chooses to give travel documents to Lalit Modi that will not spoil our bilateral relations,” Sushma Swaraj tweeted.
"Yeh koi Quattrocchi ko desh ke bahar bhagaana ya Anderson ko Bhopal trashdi ke baad desh ke bahar jaane ki permission dene jaisa maamla nahi hai," said BJP President Amit Shah. Rajnath Singh, Home Minister said, "The government stands behind her. Ek manviya samvedna rakhne wale vyakti ko yehi karna chahiye, jo Sushmaji ne kiya hai."
“I respect Sushma Swaraj and I did not expect this from her. This whole situation is very serious, where the government is helping someone who has been proved guilty. The government should come clear on this issue,” Congress party general secretary Digvijay Singh said.
“I don’t have complete information about this issue. This is a matter of thorough investigation. When the report will come and when the Parliament session will resume, this issue will be taken up there as well,” Mayawati said.
By Premji
