External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj speaks in the Rajya Sabha on her alleged links with former IPL chief Lalit Modi: "Allegations leveled against me are baseless. I did not request the British government for travel documents for Lalit Modi. I have never favoured Lalit Modi. I'm ready for a debate in Parliament, but the Opposition is not allowing it."


Swaraj, who has been attacked by the opposition for helping disgraced cricket boss Lalit Modi get travel papers in Britain, has been keen to make a statement in Parliament on the controversy, since June.


The Congress says Sushma Swaraj must be sacked for helping Modi, who it calls a "fugitive", obtain documents to travel out of Britain last year, at a time his passport stood cancelled by the Indian government.


The Congress has also maintained that the minister should first resign before she is allowed to make a statement in Parliament.