NEW DELHI: Visiting her in Jaipur, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday came out in defence of Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje, who is in the eye of the storm for allegedly helping disgraced IPL czar Lalit Modi, saying she had done no wrong and the Centre and the BJP stood firmly behind her.
Gadkari, a former BJP chief close to the RSS, became the first Union minister to publicly support Raje as Opposition parties stepped up their demand for her resignation.
“The allegations against Vasundhara Raje are baseless... Vasundharaji legally, logically, ethically is completely correct. There is no fault of hers anywhere,” the Union minister told reporters in the Rajasthan capital.
“These accusations have no substance. Doing this kind of politics is not right,” he added.
Gadkari also defended Raje’ son and Lok Sabha member Dushyant Singh, saying all the financial transactions between the latter and Lalit were reflected in the income tax returns.
“Taking a loan from someone is not a sin. It is unfortunate how these kinds of deals are being brought into a political debate, be it Sushmaji or be it Vasundharaji,” Gadkari said. Gadkari has effectively sent a political message to BJP cadres and leaders that both Sushma and Raje should be defended.
However, the matter is unlikely to die down soon as more documents and emails continue to tumble out of the closet and the Congress is mounting its attack. Lalit, for his part, is tweeting documents suggesting favours he had done or other had sought from him.