Lalit Modi, Shashi Tharoor spar over Kochi franchise

Lalit Modi and the Indian Premier League (IPL) courted fresh controversy even as several teams jostled to secure a place in the semi-final of the third season of the domestic T-20 cricket championship. This time the brouhaha was to do with the Kochi franchise, its shareholding structure, funding and ownership. Modi was locked in a war of words with Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State for External Affairs over the Kochi team's ownership. Allegations and counter allegations flew thick and fast. The matter came to such a head that even parliament proceedings were disrupted amid growing calls for Tharoor's exit. In the Lok Sabha, the BJP, SP, RJD and other parties demanded a discussion on the Lalit Modi-Shashi Tharoor saga. Even Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi was dragged into the sordid episode amid reports that the two Modis were trying to take the Kochi bid away to Ahmedabad. What's worse, Income-Tax officials landed up at Lalit Modi's premises and reportedly grilled him for 10 hours.

Tharoor said he lobbied for a franchise for Kerala because he has been a passionate cricket fan. He also repeated that as an MP for Kerala, he believed an IPL team would be a triumph for Kerala. Tharoor went on to add that the consortium that bid and won for the IPL team, Rendezvous, approached him and he became their mentor and advisor. He stated that he was not a part of their business decisions. "There was no misuse of my official position or ministry," Tharoor said. He dismissed charges that Sunanda Pushkar, who reports said is a close friend of the minister, was a front for him. "I've never had slightest taint of financial wrongdoing. Money has never been motivating factor for me," Tharoor said.

Despite all the accusations against Tharoor, he got a clean chit from Congress president Sonia Gandhi. The Congress and the government distanced themselves from the controversy but without abandoning the minister. Tharoor got into trouble after Lalit Modi revealed the identities of the Kochi franchise on Tweeter. It may be recalled that the Kochi team was bought by a consortium for a whopping Rs15.3bn under the entity called Rendezvous Sports World. The Pune team was bought by the Sahara group for around Rs17bn. BCCI president Shashank Manohar wrote a strongly-worded letter to the IPL commissioner, criticising his decision to make public the ownership details of the Kochi franchise. But, Modi said he had done no wrong and had breached no confidentiality. He said there were a lot of hidden things inside the Kochi franchise and he was just trying to make things clear. The IPL Governing Council will meet in a few days to deliberate on the ugly issue. Some reports suggested that the BCCI could clip the wings of Lalit Modi as the commissioner of the ultra successful IPL.