Congress on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of having a 'deep nexus' with Lalit Modi and bluntly told the government that there was no way out other than the resignation of Sushma Swaraj and Vasundhara Raje for 'saving' the monsoon session of parliament.

New Delhi: Congress on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of having a "deep nexus" with Lalit Modi and bluntly told the government that there was no way out other than the resignation of Sushma Swaraj and Vasundhara Raje for "saving" the monsoon session of parliament.

"This is now an issue of deep nexus between a proclaimed offender and the Prime Minister, the External Affairs Minister, the Rajasthan Chief Minister and the BJP president," senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh told reporters seeking to link the PM and Amit Shah with the controversy.

Ramesh said that in 2009, Narendra Modi, who was then Gujarat CM, became Gujarat Cricket Association's President and industrialist Gautam Adani was made commercial promoter.

Noting that five years later, the current BJP president was made GCA President while Adani continued to be promoter, he said that this was "not my allegation, facts available in public domain".

Besides, he claimed that the Lalit Modi-Gautam Adani "nexus" has been clearly established by the documents now in public domain.

Alleging that the "silence" of the Prime Minister on the issue is "defending" and is a "definite proof" that the BJP's topmost leadership has "many things to hide", he said the PM has not been speaking because the "unholy nexus is now surfacing".

"The government has got caught in a trap of its own making. The only way out for the PM for the survival of his government and saving the monsoon session of Parliament is resignation of Sushma Swaraj and Vasundhara Raje," he said.

Asked what action Congress was seeking against the PM and the BJP chief in view of the alleged nexus with Lalit Modi, Ramesh remarked that "as a first step" the resignation of Swaraj and Raje.

A senior Congress leader, who declined to be identified, said that the party would like a larger opposition coalition on the issue of Lalit Modi row like the one which had taken shape against the controversial land acquisition bill.

The monsoon session of parliament generally starts in the third week of July.

Ramesh claimed that the Lalit Modi-Gautam Adani nexus was "seeded" when the Prime Minister was the President of the GCA and "bloomed" when the BJP president took over. "If this is not crony capitalism that the Finance Minister speaks about all the time, what is?" he said.

Taking a dig at the PM over his silence in the matter, Ramesh remarked 'while International Yoga day is still two days away, the Prime Minister has sat on 'Lalitsana', a new 'asana' (yogic exercise) in which ears, eyes, mouth and nose-all are closed."

"Ever since the Chota Modi scam broke out, Bada Modi... is clearly afraid to take decisive action against Swaraj and Raje because he is afraid they will spill the beans and reveal the real truth."

"That Lalit Modi would not have been able to take the Indian government for a royal ride without the connivance of the PM and the BJP president. There is nothing fake about this anymore," he remarked.

On the issue of friendship being talked between Lalit Modi and some Congress leaders including Rajiv Shukla, he said that "being friends is not a crime but making use of friendship to break the law is a crime".

He said that the Congress leadership would take cognisance if there is a party leader who has helped Lalit Modi escape from law.

Ramesh dismissed as "political vendetta" the cases registered by CBI against Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Vir Bhadra Singh and Gujarat Leader of the opposition Shankersinh Vaghela.

At a party workers' meet in Jhunjhunu, AICC General Secretary Gurudas Kamat said, "It is surprising that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who extensively uses social media platform, is silent on the entire issue. This silence is a tacit approval of BJP leadership for corruption."

He demanded that both Sushma Swaraj and Vasundhara Raje be sacked.

"Both Sushma Swaraj and Vasundhara Raje should be sacked for their favour to Lalit Modi without any further delay. A case should also be lodged against Raje for getting monetary gain from Lalit Modi. Raje is involved in economic crime," he alleged.

Similar meetings of party workers were also held in Jaipur rural where PCC President Sachin Pilot was also present, PCC Vice President Archana Sharma said.

Meanwhile, Congress workers held demonstrations at district headquarters demanding a high level inquiry against Raje.

PTI