JOIN USTharoor hits back at Modi
As the situation took a turn for the worse, the Congress sought an explanation from Tharoor while the BCCI decided to shortly convene a meeting to discuss the controversy. It is too early to say whether Tharoor will survive this fresh round of controversy surrounding him. In clear indications that trouble was brewing for the 54-year-old Tharoor, the Congress first appeared to defend him but within hours did a U-turn to say, “Let him explain.”
But some Congress leaders believe the minister may find it hard to convince the party high command that he committed no wrong or that he had nothing to do with swinging the deal in favour of Rendezvous Sports World (RSW) which could cough up Rs 1,530 crore to bag the Kochi team.
Even as Tharoor issued a lengthy statement denying Modi’s charges that the minister spoke to the IPL boss to press him not to question the composition of the Kochi consortium, the BJP demanded Tharoor’s sack and sought a CBI probe into the alleged “misuse” of authority for “securing” the investment for his close friend Sunanda Pushkar in the Kochi IPL team.
Pushkar has been romantically linked to twice-divorced Tharoor who is believed to have proposed marriage to the beautician whose financial background is unknown.
Actual share owners?
Not to be left behind, Modi said his revelations on Twitter were “in no way a breach of confidentiality.” He went on to say that the Kochi franchise had “a lot to hide and as such have lied about who are the actual owners of the shares.”
Modi’s response came in the wake of a strongly worded letter BCCI president Shashank Manohar earlier wrote to Modi, after the Kochi franchisee complained to him, criticising the IPL Commissioner’s decision to make public the ownership details.
Manohar chided Modi for revealing the stakes of Kochi’s owners, saying the BCCI was a body that “functions in accordance with its constitution” and not through the media.
In a damage-control move, the BCCI decided to convene a meeting of its governing council within 10 days to end the controversy.
BCCI vice-president and spokesman Rajiv Shukla said considering the seriousness of the issue, the board decided to call for the IPL governing council meeting to sort out the controversial issue.
As Modi and Tharoor slugged it out, some unconfirmed reports emerged that two former Indian cricket captains, whose identities are not being revealed now for legal reasons, might be involved in investing in the Kochi team.