All accusations are baseless: Jaitley on Sushma Swaraj-Lalit Modi row

Jaitley said Swaraj's intentions while helping Lalit Modi was 'good'.

"All accusations made against her are baseless," Jaitley said while addressing a press conference here.

"She acted bona fide. Her intention was good. The government and party supports her," he said.

The Congress party earlier in the day mocked the Foreign Minister's defence of her action of helping Lalit Modi on humanitarian ground as a "tearjerker."

Holding that the Government of India's request (officially) was to not allow Lalit Modi to move out of the UK, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said: "Tearjerkers that this was done on Humanitarian Grounds is a false claim by the External Affairs Minister."

Sharma said that despite facing serious allegations and Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe, Lalit Modi was holidaying in different countries.

"There was no invasive surgery, for this emergency request for travel document was made. Lalit Modi was holidaying in a place called Ibiza, when the passport was restored. But the Indian government did not appeal," Sharma said.

"This person for whom a Humanitarian Empathy was invoked was holidaying in various countries- despite declaring bankruptcy," Sharma said taking a dig at Swaraj.

All opposition parties have mounted up pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Central  government to sack Sushma Swaraj if she does not resign herself after the External Affairs Minister has been caught up in a huge controversy over helping helping Lalit Modi, who is accused of financial irregularities in the game, procure travel documents in the UK last year.

The External Affairs Minister on Sunday defended herself and said she helped convey his request to the British envoy 'taking a humanitarian view.'

In a series of tweets, Swaraj had said, "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. He told me that he had to be present in the Hospital 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."

She had wrote: "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."

"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. 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," she had said.

Lalit Modi has been in the UK since 2010 when the India Premier League was caught in a huge controversy over an alleged betting scandal.

Lalit Modi's passport was revoked in March that year.

However, Lalit Modi was given a visa after Indian-origin British MP Keith Vaz recommended his name.

According to the British media, Vaz said Swaraj had pressurised UK's top immigration official to grant British travel papers to Lalit Modi.