It was impromptu and no words were exchanged: MEA on PM Modi's photo with Nirav Modi in Davos

On Friday, MEA again clarified that PM Modi had not interacted with Nirav Modi in Davos at the World Economic Forum 2018. 

Asserting that Nirav Modi was not part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's official delegation to Davos, Kumar said the group photo of the prime minister with a group of businessmen was just an "impromptu" event.

He said: “I can say with confidence that this gentleman is not in touch with any of our officials & frankly at this stage we are not aware about his location. Process of his revocation of passport has begun. Today his passport was suspended. Now he will remain in the country where ever he is..he ll not be able to travel further. Also, to clarify again. He was not part of official delegation.”

He added: “Any business delegation is not part of PM delegation. There was no meeting between him and PM. When we came out of meeting, Indian CEOs were waiting for the PM .It was an impromptu thing that happened between two meetings. There was no exchange of words or greetings.”

Earlier, the PMO India handle had tweeted: “Prime Minister @narendramodi interacted with leading Indian CEOs at Davos. India's entrepreneurial zeal is being admired all over the world.”

Prime Minister @narendramodi interacted with leading Indian CEOs at Davos. India's entrepreneurial zeal is being admired all over the world. pic.twitter.com/VzgycRapBq

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) January 23, 2018

The external affairs ministry today suspended with immediate effect the passports of diamantaire Nirav Modi and his business partner Mehul Choksi for four weeks.

The ministry, which said it did not know where Nirav Modi was, gave them one week to respond why their passports should not be revoked. "If they fail to respond within the stipulated time it will be assumed that they have no response to offer and the MEA will go ahead with the revocation," the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

Announcing the suspension, the statement said, "On the advice of the Enforcement Directorate, the passport issuing authority in the MEA has today suspended the validity of passports of Nirav Deepak Modi and Mehul Chinubhai Choksi with immediate effect for a period of four weeks u/s 10(A) of the Passports Act 1967."

They have been asked to respond within one week why their passports should not be impounded or revoked under Section 10 (3) (c) of the Passports Act 1967, it said. Kumar said when asked if Nirav Modi was in touch with the ministry and if the government knew his whereabouts.

Taking to Twitter, Congress President Rahul Gandhi posted, "The scamster's escape formula: La(Mo) + Ni(Mo) ---(with) Na(Mo)---> Bha(Go)", while using the hashtag "#ModiRobsIndia".

The Congress chief had yesterday alleged that the NDA government was looking the other way when billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi used his clout with the prime minister to slip out of the country and steal Rs 12,000 crore, drawing comparison with the case of liquor baron Vijay Mallya.

"Guide to looting India by Nirav Modi--1. Hug PM Modi 2. Be seen with him in DAVOS. Use that clout to: A. Steal 12,000 crore B. Slip out of the country like Mallya, while the government looks the other way," Gandhi tweeted yesterday, using hashtag "#From1MODI2another".

The Congress had targeted the government over the Rs 11,400-crore PNB scam allegedly involving jewellery designer Nirav Modi and accused it of doing nothing to stop "independent India's biggest bank fraud" despite being informed of it in July 2016.

The opposition party had also raised questions on whether Nirav Modi had been tipped off following which he left the country.