Sharad Pawar backs Lalit Modi in IPL Kochi row

Sharad Pawar on Thursday came out in support of IPL commissioner Lalit Modi, saying there was nothing wrong in making public names of the stakeholders of the Kochi franchise. 

"There in nothing wrong in disclosing the names of the stakeholders to the public," Pawar, former BCCI chief and ICC President-elect, said on Thursday. 

He was asked about Modi revealing the names of the Kochi stakeholders, one of them being Sunanda Pushkar, a close friend of the Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor. Tharoor is alleged to have had a hand in Pushkar getting free equity worth 70 crore in IPL Kochi. 

Pawar was asked about questions being raised over transparency in IPL and allegations of underworld and betting syndicates pumping huge amounts in securing franchise. 

"If the IPL Commissioner or BCCI President is asking any information about any bid, they have got every right to ask for the information because unless and until they collect the correct information, they will not realise who are behind this," he said. 

The former BCCI President also supported Shashi Tharoor who helped set up the consortium which bagged the Kochi franchise, saying the minister's "basic interest" was to bring cricket to center stage in Kerala and provide opportunities to players from the state. 

"What my observation is that Tharoor's basic interest was that Kochi should get opportunity in the IPL. He was eager to show to people of Kerala that IPL is also a part of Kerala and wanted to encourage new players from Kerala," Pawar said. 

The Agriculture Minister hoped the IPL governing council meeting later this month will clear the "misunderstandings". 

"I am absolutely clear that when (BCCI President) Shashank Manohar will have this meeting, all misunderstandings will be cleared," he said. 

Pawar also said that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi had no role in the entire episode. 

"They (Kochi investors) met me once and there was suggestion that Kochi stadium will take a year or two to complete. So in the meantime if they play in Ahmedabad, that will be better. 

"But I advised them 'you have taken the option of Kochi. Please do not shift the place'. Fortunately that time Narendra Modi was in town. These people met Modi also and in my presence Modi told the investors 'Don't insist for Ahmedabad because you got this opportunity for Kochi," he said. 

Pawar said he did not believe Lalit Modi offered the Kochi franchise $50 million to back out. He also questioned the seriousness of the underworld threat that Tharoor is claimed to have received.

IPL Kochi franchisee spat sets up Modi - Tharoor clash

TIMES OF INDIA - The IPL-Kochi franchisee controversy took a new twist on Monday, setting the stage for a face-off between IPL commissioner Lalit Modi and minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor. 

In a day of fast-paced developments, Modi was threatened with legal action by the franchisee, Rendezvous Sports, and received an admonition from BCCI for revealing who owns how much in Rendezvous. He countered by accusing Tharoor of calling him up to ask him not to seek the identity of the Rendezvous stakeholders, though regulations make it necessary for the identities to be revealed to IPL. 

Interestingly, one of the Rendezvous stake holders made public by Modi in his tweets is Sunanda Pushkar, beautician-cum-socialite, who is reported by agencies to be on the verge of marrying Tharoor. Aides of Tharoor have refused to comment on the speculation on the ground that "it is an absolutely private matter". 

Pushkar is said to divide her time between Mumbai and Dubai. According to Modi, she owns 18% of Rendezvous shares, though TOI could not confirm this independently. On the agreement papers, she is said to be a resident of Jammu Tawi. 

What lends intensity to the unfolding drama is the suspicion that the IPL bosses - unhappy with Rendezvous gate crashing into the bidding - may be pressuring it to vacate the slot for an established corporate entity. The matter has taken on the dimension of a powerplay - not of the Twenty20 kind - with political circles buzzing about Tharoor lobbying Congress bigwigs to beat back the bid to get Rendezvous to leave Kochi. 

Even if true, this failed to deter Modi from digging in his heels. A combative IPL commissioner reacted to a letter of rebuke by BCCI chief Shashank Manohar by insisting that his disclosure of the Rendezvous ownership pattern did not amount to breach of regulations. In fact, he alleged that the Kochi franchisee had a "lot to hide" and "have lied about who is the actual owner of the shares."