KK Modi, father of tainted cricket tycoon Lalit Modi and chief of Indofil, in an interview to NDTV.
Tainted cricket tycoon Lalit Modi's father and Indofil chief KK Modi today said his son did write a letter to Swaraj Kaushal, the husband of External Affairs Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, but it was withdrawn later.
Reacting to the controversy over Lalit Modi's offer of a directorship in the family-run firm to Mr Kaushal, he also negated the possibility of a conflict of interest on part of the minister, as has been claimed by the Congress.
"Kaushal is not on the board, so where is the conflict of interest? The conflict of interest would have come in only if we would have appointed him."
Mr Kaushal's appointment as Indofil director, he said, "was just a proposal". "Lalit Modi did write a letter, but later withdrew, hence the request not considered," he said.
An email accessed by NDTV, sent by Lalit Modi in April, showed he asked the minister's husband to be an Alternate Director of Indofil, which would have allowed Mr Kaushal to fill in for him at board meetings.
Mr Kaushal, who claimed to have rejected the proposal, said there was no business interest between him and Lalit Modi. "I was designated Senior Advocate by the Supreme Court of India at 34, Advocate General at 34 and Governor at 37. What job can anyone give me?" Mr Kaushal told NDTV in an exclusive interview.
Lalit Modi's offer to Mr Swaraj, who has been his legal advisor for over two decades, has created a storm. The Congress has already demanded the resignation of the minister, who helped the former IPL chief - wanted in a number of corruption cases in India - get UK travel documents to be with his ailing wife in Portugal.
The BJP claims there has been no conflict of interest, since Mr Kaushal did not accept the position.
Mr Kaushal told NDTV what he received from Mr Modi was a retainership, which is essentially a lawyer's fee. "The lawyers' fee does not create any business interest. I accepted this engagement as a lawyer much before the present government came to power," he said.