Form SIT to look into Lalitgate; probe Sharad Pawar too: Sanjay Nirupam

MUMBAI: Congress today accused Sharad Pawar of "defending" Union Minister Sushma Swaraj and Lalit Modi and demanded a SIT probe into the entire controversy, including the NCP chief's role in it.

Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam also demanded that the SIT also look into the alleged role of the Maratha strongman, a former BCCI President, in the IPL "scam".

"Involvement of Sushma Swaraj's conflict of interest in bailing out Lalit Modi and his links with Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and her son Dushyant Singh have been exposed. Under these circumstances, Sharad Pawar's support to these people raises doubt over his own role in the entire affair," Nirupam said while talking to reporters here.

"Hence, I demand that an SIT be set up under the supervision of the Supreme Court to probe everybody's role (in Lalitgate) be it Sharad Pawar or Sushma Swaraj or Lalit Modi," he said.

"Pawar has been marked as CC in almost all e-mails sent by Lalit Modi which are now in public domain," the Congress leader said.

It shows the former Union Agriculture Minister, too, has some vested interest in this controversy, he added.

Asked about the names of a few Congress leaders too figuring in the Lalitgate, Nirupam said, "I demand an in-depth enquiry of everyone's role, whosoever it be."

Terming IPL as "the den of corruption", Nirupam said the cash-rich T20 tournament, whose editions have been faced spot- fixing and betting charges, has mixed cricket with "dirty politics".

"Sharad Pawar must understand the gravity of the case because when Sushma Swaraj became a Minister, she took oath to uphold the Constitution and its norms. But see, how she flouted all constitutional norms and took advantage of her position and facilitated travel documents (of Lalit in UK)."

Asked to comment on the Sushma Swaraj-Lalit Modi row, Pawar, a former ally of Congress in Maharashtra, had said, "The issue is being unnecessarily exaggerated."