Raje not asked to quit, says her office as BJP continues to back her

In the dock over Lalit Modi row, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje insisted that she has not been asked to resign and media was running "false" reports to tarnish her image and cause "political damage".

A statement issued by the chief minister's press advisor on Thursday night said a few electronic news channels were showing reports beyond the truth. "These are untrue. Every such news should be verified, cross checked and confirmed," it said.

While rubbishing the media reports, the statement specifically referred to TV news headlines like 'resignation sought from Vasundhara, she says I will not tender resignation'. It also referred to news items like 'If I am removed, the party would come in a great problem: Vasundhara', 'BJP can divide if Vasundhra goes' and '110 MLAs come in support of Raje'.

"By tarnishing or damaging her image, the channels are accusing political damage to the chief minister," it said.

"The electronic media should not run false news based on rumours. Such news is baseless and rumour-oriented, and before running such news, a confirmation and investigation should be required," it said.

The statement also talked about reports like 'MLAs and ministers are gathering at CM residence', 'CM is going to Delhi' and 'Rajendra Rathore, Medical and Health Minister, is going to Delhi'.

The CM is in the dock for reportedly giving an affidavit in favour of Lalit Modi, former Indian Premier League Commissioner who is facing the Enforcement Directorate probe into alleged money laundering in connection with organising of IPL tournament.

Lalit Modi has made London his home ever since the probe began in 2010.

Sharpening its attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party over the issue of help extended to Lalit Modi, the Congress said the party should ask Raje to step down as it can no longer "continue to defend the indefensible".

Dismissing as being "lame" the BJP's claim that the signatures in the said document are forged, Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot said, "I don't think it is possible for anyone to put up that lame an argument... And, if she had to deny the signatures, she should have done it perhaps in the beginning.

Senior BJP leaders jumped to Raje's defence with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley saying nobody is "tainted" and the party questioning authenticity of documents, showing her to have backed Lalit Modi's application for immigration to the UK. "There is nobody who is tainted please," Jaitley told reporters at the Delhi airport after his return from the US.

Another senior minister, M Venkaiah Naidu, said the Narendra Modi government was working in the "most honest and transparent" manner blamed some "unhappy people" for the outcry over Raje's help to the former IPL boss.

"As far as party is concerned everything is happening positively," he said as reporters sought to know BJP leadership's stand on the raging row.

Putting up a brave front, the BJP claimed that the details of the matter involving her help to Lalit Modi were yet not clear and nor was the authenticity of the documents carrying her purported signature. "What is the impropriety in the case of Raje? These are only some documents. Their authenticity is yet to be proved. Did she testify before any court and before a judge? Has the UK government said anything?" party spokesperson Sambit Patra said in her defence.

He also played up the family relations between Raje and the former IPL commissioner to suggest that she might have helped him. "Even if we presume the documents to be true, we know that they had family relations."

Image: Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje