NEW DELHI -- Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said that Indian authorities will continue investigating links between Dushyant Singh, son of Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje, and Lalit Modi, the embattled former commissioner of the Indian Premier League.
Singh has faced flak from opposition politicians after reports that Modi, a fugitive under Indian law, had invested Rs 11.63 crore in Singh's firm. The investments were made in 2008, when Modi was a member of the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI).
Jaitley said his remarks made last week were misinterpreted. He was quoted as saying that transactions between Singh and Modi were 'commercial'. "How the government could be concerned with a several year old loan transaction....which is a commercial loan transaction by check with all banking approvals in a declared loan transaction."
This statement seemed to suggest that there was nothing wrong with Singh's dealing with Modi.
Jaitley, on a nine day trip to the United States, clarified his stance Tuesday. "I have never used such a word. That is never part of my domain," Jaitley told reporters when asked about opposition's allegations that his remarks amounted to giving clean chit to Singh, a BJP Member of Parliament. "That is clear misinterpretation of what I said."
"Whatever various assessing authorities in India have to do, its their job. They would continue to do that," Jaitley said on the sidelines of a public event at the Stanford University.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Raje have been accused of helping Modi in procuring travel documents in the UK, a country which he has made his home to avoid the courts in India.
Modi, 49, has been in London since 2010 after the IPL became embroiled in allegations of match-fixing and illegal betting.
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