Lalit Modi had tweeted on Thursday night that he was happy to meet Priyanka Gandhi and Robert Vadra in London.

The Congress hit back at Lalit Modi and the Centre after the former IPL chief said he had met Priyanka Gandhi and her husband Robert Vadra at a London restaurant.

Shortly after the BJP, that is facing pressure over resignation demand of Union Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje for helping fugitive Lalit, started questioning the link between Vadras and the former IPL chief, Congress communication department chief Randeep Surjewala said neither Priyanka nor her husband had ever interacted socially with Lalit Modi.

"I can say with full responsibility that neither Priyanka Gandhi nor Robert Vadra ever interacted with Lalit Modi socially. If you see somebody in a restaurant, it is not a crime," said Surjewala.

Lalit had on Thursday night tweeted, "Happy to meet the Gandhi family... in London. I had run into Robert and Priyanka separately".

Noting that Lalit was "helping" Prime Minister Narendra Modi divert attention by raising non issues, Surjewala charged that, "Chhota Modi is helping bade Modi with lies."

"It is a diversionary tactic of the BJP to take attention to non-issues. The government should speak about real issue and not hide behind Lalit Modi," Surjewala added.

Congress veteran CP Joshi too defended the Vadras and attacked both Vasundhara Raje and Lalit Modi.



"This is not an allegation. You are taking inference out of it. What is to clarify when Lalit Modi has already clarified it?. It is a coincidence. What can anybody do if someone appears before them at a restaurant?" Joshi asked.

Attacking Lalit by describing him as "black money stooge" of the BJP, Surjewala said the government should instead answer the charges against Swaraj and Raje, who had helped a "fugitive" extend his stay in UK and get travel documents violating law.

"If one were to look at the election affidavit filed by Vasundhara Raje in 2013, it becomes clear that she owns 3,280 shares of Rs 10 each in Niyant Heritage Hotel Pvt Ltd. Once Lalit Modi accomplished the blatant quid pro quo of surreptitiously benefiting Raje of Rs 11.60 crore by buying shares and giving unsecured loans in 2009, she conveniently acquired shares of the company after that," Congress spokesperson Ajoy Kumar said.

"Wasn't this, prima facie an attempt at hoodwinking so that direct collusion does not look apparent in the future? It further establishes the ongoing saga of criminal conspiracy, malafide, malintent and blatantly crony quid pro quo. With this direct client server relation in the open, what the Rajasthan CM have in her defence now? Isteefa ab nahi to Kab?" asked Kumar.