NEW DELHI: External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj did meet former IPL chief Lalit Modi in London in October last year but sources close to her say the meeting was at a small, private dinner hosted by hotelier Joginder Sanger, the owner of the Kensington hotel where Ms Swaraj was staying during an official trip for Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas.
“There was a small group of 15 people at this late night dinner organized by Sanger. Lalit was invited as a guest by Sanger. There was no other separate or individual meeting with Lalit Modi,” sources in Sushma Swaraj’s office told NDTV on reports that she had met Lalit Modi at London’s Bentley hotel on October 17th, 2014. Sources have confirmed that since this was a late night private dinner that began close to midnight when the Foreign Minister landed in London, the High Commissioner, Ranjan Mathai, was not present or invited.
This is the first detailed account of Sushma Swaraj’s version of the controversy that erupted on Sunday over her help to Lalit Modi, who is being investigated for corruption linked to the multi-million dollar IPL or Indian Premier League.
Sources describe Mr Sanger, the owner of the Bentley Hotel, as a family friend of Sushma Swaraj.
They also denied any meeting in London between Sushma Swaraj and Indian-origin MP Keith Vaz, whose leaked emails with Lalit Modi first triggered the political storm. In the email exchange between Mr Vaz and Lalit Modi, the MP is quoted as saying “We will need her (Sushma) again.” Mr Vaz was also approached by Lalit Modi for help with securing admission for Sushma Swaraj’s nephew in Sussex University.
Sources say Sushma Swaraj met with Keith Vaz only twice and neither meeting was in London.
Responding to reports that Ms Swaraj met Lalit Modi, Keith Vaz and also industrialist Gopi Hinduja on the same trip, sources close to her said: “The meeting with Gopi Hinduja was at a public Indian community reception attended by 300 people. The high commissioner was also present at this event.”
Ms Swaraj is facing opposition attacks for helping Lalit Modi with emergency travel documents in the UK – she claims it was a humanitarian gesture, so that he could be with his wife during her cancer surgery in Portugal.
The Congress has alleged conflict of interest – Sushma Swaraj’s daughter Bansuri represented Lalit Modi for seven years.
Sources say an angry Ms Swaraj has rejected all charges of conflict of interest and says her daughter has been dragged into the storm. “My daughter is a barrister in her own right,” Sushma Swaraj has told both her party and friends.
Reacting to Arun Jaitley’s first statement of public support for her on Tuesday, sources close to Sushma Swaraj insist that her “meeting with the Finance Minister and Home Minister Rajnath Singh was pre-scheduled. The word Lalit was not uttered.”
