External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj found herself at the centre of a political firestorm today after the UK-based Sunday Times reported a “leaked conversation” between influential Labour MP Keith Vaz and head of UK Visas and Immigration Sarah Rapson that cited Swaraj to facilitate travel documents for former IPL boss Lalit Modi. Also Read: Sushma’s daughter part of his legal team in passport case “Leaked correspondence reveals how Vaz cited Sushma Swaraj, India’s foreign minister, to the Home Office in an effort to expedite the case of Lalit Modi, a mutual acquaintance,” The Sunday Times said. Also Read: The Lalit Modi File when he got the favour Responding to the news report via a series of tweets, Swaraj said she took a “humanitarian” view of Lalit Modi’s case since his wife was suffering from cancer. Also Read: Party, RSS back her but murmurs within As the Congress demanded her resignation and also questioned the role of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the episode, the BJP stood by its senior leader. After meeting the PM, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said, “We want to make it clear that whatever she has done is right. We justify it and the government completely stands by her.” Sometime in July 2014 Lalit Modi spoke to me that his wife was suffering from Cancer and her surgery was fixed for 4th Aug in Portugal. — Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) June 14, 2015 Taking a humanitarian view, I conveyed to the British High Commissioner that "British Government should examine the request of — Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) June 14, 2015 Lalit Modi as per British rules and regulations. If the British Government chooses to give travel documents to Lalit Modi, — Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) June 14, 2015 Keith Vaz also spoke to me and I told him precisely what I told the British High Commissioner. — Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) June 14, 2015 I genuinely believe that in a situation such as this, giving emergency travel documents to an Indian citizen cannot and should not — Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) June 14, 2015 Defending herself in tweets, Swaraj said, “Sometime in July 14 Lalit Modi spoke to me that his wife was suffering from Cancer and surgery was fixed for 4th Aug in Portugal. 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. Keith Vaz also spoke to me and I told him precisely what I told the British High Commissioner.” Also Read: She should quit… did Modi help Modi: Congress In the evening, Swaraj tweeted, “What benefit did I pass on to Lalit Modi — that he could sign consent papers for surgery of his wife suffering from Cancer? He was in London. After his wife’s surgery, he came back to London. What is it that I changed?” The Indian External Affairs Ministry had revoked Modi’s passport in 2010 after he fled India for London following an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate against him for alleged betting and misappropriation of funds in the IPL tournament. The ED had also issued a blue corner notice on Modi through Interpol. A British Home Office spokesperson told The Indian Express in an e-mail statement, “We do not routinely comment on the details of individual cases. This case was determined in accordance with the appropriate rules.” The Sunday Times reported that on July 31, 5.28 pm, Vaz wrote to Sarah Rapson, questioning an initial decision to deny Modi’s plea for travel papers. According to the paper, he said: “The foreign minister of India (Sushma Swaraj) has spoken to me, making it very clear that the Indian government have no objection to the travel document being granted. Mrs Swaraj has also spoken to Sir James Bevan who, even though he was on leave, said he would speak to the relevant person in the Home Office. Frankly, everyone has been involved in this apart from Ban Ki-moon (the UN secretary-general).” Bevan is the British High Commissioner to India. Less than 24 hours later, says the paper, Modi was granted his travel documents. An Indian-origin British MP, Vaz was at the time chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, and is currently seeking re-election to the role. He is now under the scanner of the British Parliamentary Standards Commissioner for conflict of interest as he was responsible for scrutinising the Immigration Department. The leaked correspondence also shows, according to the paper, that in August 2013, Swaraj’s husband Swaraj Kaushal, a lawyer, contacted Modi and sought Vaz’s help to find a place at a British university for their nephew, Jyotirmay Kaushal (Jyotirmay is the son of The Indian Express special correspondent Pradeep Kaushal). On August 29, 2013, Modi passed on the request to Vaz, saying Sushma Swaraj had called, according to the paper. Vaz strongly denies providing any help. He also told the paper that the UK Home Office climbdown on Modi had nothing to do with his interventions. “The credit for the success of this case rests with (Modi’s) lawyers,” he said. In her tweets, Swaraj said, “He (Lalit Modi) told me that he had to be present in the Hospital (with his wife) to sign the consent papers. He informed me that he had applied for travel documents in London and UK Government was prepared to give him the travel documents. However, they were restrained by a UPA Government communication that this will spoil Indo-UK relations. 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. I genuinely believe that in a situation such as this, giving emergency travel documents to an Indian citizen cannot and should not spoil relations between the two countries. I may also state that only a few days later, Delhi High Court quashed UPA Government’s order impounding Lalit Modi’s Passport on the ground that the said order was unconstitutional being violative of fundamental rights and he got his Passport back. Regarding Jyotirmay Kaushal’s admission in a law course at Sussex University, he secured admission through the normal admission process in 2013 — one year before I became a Minister.” Vaz was also quoted by the British press as saying: “In this case it was the fact that his (Lalit Modi’s) wife had cancer and he had been waiting four years for a travel document, and this is a problem that we have pursued for some time. Why is it that people wait four years for a travel document?” He said he had treated Modi’s case no differently from “hundreds” of others in which he perceived flaws in the immigration system, including those involving people outside his constituency. On August 4, 2014, two days after he had got his travel papers, Modi posted pictures of a cancer centre in Lisbon on social media, reported The Sunday Times. A few days later, he travelled to Ibiza for a family holiday. His Indian passport was reinstated by a Delhi court later that month.
