Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje attends a meeting of the NITI Aayog along with chief ministers of some other states in New Delhi yesterday.
IANS/Jaipur/New Delhi
Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje who is under increasing pressure to resign over her help to former cricket boss Lalit Modi yesterday failed to get an audience with either Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah during her visit to New Delhi.
Raje was in New Delhi to attend a NITI Aayog meeting.
The Congress continued to mount pressure for Raje’s resignation and asked the prime minister to follow “raj dharma” and not “Raje dharma.”
Lalit Modi, who on Friday tweeted the names of some Congress personalities he had “met”, yesterday praised the prime minister.
“Our PM is most savvy man. He does not need my advise. When he bats he will hit the ball out of the park.#respect only,” said Lalit Modi, who is facing cases of alleged tax evasion.
Raje is facing demands for her resignation over her testifying in writing in favour of Lalit Modi for a British immigration application with the Congress also accusing her of having “financial dealings” with the former Indian Premier League (IPL) chief.
Raje reached Delhi around 9.30am and spent close to four hours in the national capital. She also spent some time at her house in Delhi before flying back to Jaipur, sources said.
BJP sources said Raje had sought an appointment with Shah yesterday to present her views on the controversy dogging her.
The sources said it was conveyed to Raje by Shah’s office that her meeting party leaders and the prime minister at this juncture will lead to speculation that she was offering explanations and also to interpretation in the media that her fate still hangs in the balance.
However, political analysts and some news channels viewed her not meeting the BJP top leaders as a snub.
Raje’s office swiftly reacted to reports that she failed to meet the party’s top leaders, saying she went to Delhi only to attend the NITI Aayog meeting and that nothing else was scheduled in the national capital.
“These reports are completely untrue and baseless. These are far away from truth. Verify before running or publishing reports,” said the statement from the chief minister’s media adviser.
A BJP leader said Raje’s meeting with the central leadership could take place over the next few days.
BJP sources said the prime minister and Shah met late Friday in the wake of Raje facing mounting pressure to resign and decided to back her.
They also decided that she would attend the NITI Aayog meeting.
The BJP leader said it was decided to get an Interpol red corner notice issued against Lalit Modi which will entail his being detained in any country.
Congress spokesman Ajoy Kumar attacked the prime minister yesterday over Raje not resigning and advised him to follow the path of “raj dharma”.
“We want to advise the prime minister to follow the path of raj dharma and shed Raje-dharma and Modi-dharma,” Ajoy Kumar told reporters here.
“Modi ji’s response on corruption, black money is very disappointing. He made jumlas (sarcastic remarks) on these subjects during polls,” he added.
Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal also sought the resignation of Raje along with that of External Affaris Minister Sushma Swaraj and Human Resource Minister Smriti Irani.
While Swaraj has been in the eye of a storm for facilitating British travel documents on “humanitarian grounds” for Lalit Modi, Irani is facing accusations over her educational qualifications.
