Rahul Gandhi asks PM Narendra Modi to show courage, get Lalit Modi back to India

NEW DELHI: As the monsoon session of Parliament ended on an acrimonious note, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi led an Opposition dharna outside Parliament and challenged PM Modi "to show courage" to bring ex-IPL boss Lalit Modi, whom he described as a key link between political system and black money, back to India to clean up cricket.

Countering external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj’s allegations that his father Rajiv Gandhi had allowed Ottavio Quattrocchi, accused in the Bofors case, and Union Carbide Corporation chairman during the Bhopal gas leak, Warren Anderson, to flee India, Gandhi said India’s judicial system had cleared his father 13 years ago, but rivals will continue to rake up accusations.

Even as the Congress moved the Speaker demanding Swaraj’s remarks be expunged and threatened the minister with a privilege notice, senior party leader P Chidambaram said Swaraj could have consulted her colleague Arun Jaitley, who was law minister, and attorney-general Mukul Rohatgi, who was the government counsel in the Bofors case when the CBI case against Rajiv Gandhi was rejected by the Delhi high court for lack of evidence, before making her remarks in the Lok Sabha.

Gandhi said, "Many people think Modiji has guts, some people say he doesn’t. If you don’t bring back Lalit Modi and if you continue to allow these people to defend Lalit Modi the way Sushmaji did, we will understand this PM is scared."

Maintaining that BJP’s attack on him will not make any difference, Gandhi said, "I am here to defend the country from the RSS and (Narendra) Modi. To defend the country from RSS’ encouraging mediocrity." He said he would also defend TV journalists, "who are being asked to shut up now". The Opposition dharna also saw the Left and Trinamool MPs joining hands with Congress members.