London [UK], June 4 (ANI): Former IPL Chairman Lalit Modi has made explosive claims while recollecting the fracas surrounding the Kochi Tuskers IPL franchise in 2010. Lalit Modi, who now lives in the UK, claimed that a political shield was put up for Congress leader Shashi Tharoor during the controversy.
In an interview with ANI, Lalit Modi claimed that when he attempted to block the entry of the Kochi consortium over an alleged fraudulent equity structure involving Tharoor's late wife, Sunanda Pushkar, the entire machinery of the then-ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government ganged up to bring him down.
When asked who was backing Shashi Tharoor, Lalit said, 'Sonia Gandhi. All guns were trained on me from every side. I got calls from Ahmed Patel; I got calls from Pranab Mukherjee in those days... I was friendly with everyone of them. You had Rajiv Shukla coming up to me, telling me, do this, do that.'
According to Lalit, the conflict began because he refused to overlook an allegedly highly skewed financial model presented by the Kochi consortium. The group secured the expansion team with a massive $350 million bid, but structurally, the math pointed to a massive financial collapse.
'All the shareholders were there except for the lady, Sunanda Pushkar. You're giving away 25% shares to a lady called Sunanda Pushkar. Who is she? You're giving up 15% of the revenue. Who is she?' Lalit Modi recalled asking consortium members.
'How can somebody pay $350 million for a consortium where 75% of the shareholders are paying 100% of the cost, and someone else is getting 25% free equity?' Lalit Modi questioned.
'For her 10-rupee share, on the day she got the team, it was worth 1 lakh rupees. Their 10-rupee share was worth 1 paisa. I knew this was going to collapse. And what happened? Two years down the line, it did,' he further alleged.
Lalit claimed the standoff peaked during a late-night meeting in Bengaluru, where he refused to sign the official franchise agreement until the identities of the shadow shareholders were made public.
'I had no idea who Sunanda Pushkar was. I asked the consortium members, 'Who is she?' One guy says she's an automobile dealer's child, a famous marketing person. I said, 'Hello, I'm a marketing person in India, and I don't know who she is,' he said.
Lalit Modi further claimed he refused to sign the agreement without knowing Pushkar's identity. He claimed that he got a call from the then-Minister of State for External Affairs, Shashi Tharoo.
'I get a call from Shashi Tharoor on the phone,' Lalit Modi recalled. 'He says, 'Lalit, don't ask about Sunanda Pushkar. She is a good friend of mine.' I asked why, and he said, 'If you do, I'll have you raided in the morning.' I said, 'Screw you. Who the hell do you think you are? You may be the Foreign Minister of India, but don't you dare ever tell me this.' I slammed the phone and said I would not sign.'
Lalit Modi also claimed he allowed Kochi into the IPL bidding despite Kerala lacking a stadium. 'Tharoor sucked up to me at that time to do it. 'He'd come to my house. He was a smooth talker without doubt. I fell for it,' he said.
The Kochi franchise was terminated by the BCCI in 2011. The KCPL and RSW-owned Kochi franchise competed in just one IPL season in 2011, ending eighth out of ten teams. Tharoor resigned as Minister of State for External Affairs in 2010 following the controversy in April 2010.
Speaking on the Twitter exchange with Sunanda Pushkar before she died in 2014, Lalit Modi said: 'That morning, Sunanda was communicating with me on Twitter... she said, ' Should I disclose? I said, ' Go ahead and disclose.'
He further claimed that he had never spoken to the late Sunanda in person. Pushkar was found dead in a suite of a luxury hotel in the city on the night of January 17, 2014. Lalit alleged that then BCCI president Shashank Manohar called him late at night and insisted the agreement be signed immediately. Despite Lalit Modi's pleas to delay the signing until the morning, Manohar ordered an immediate signature.
'I told him, 'Shashank, I will sign this agreement under duress. And I will note it on the document that the President is forcing me to sign.' And I did note it,' Lalit Modi said.
Reflecting on his life in London and his ties with top leaders, including former Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje and late Union Minister Sushma Swaraj, Lalit Modi rejected the narrative that he sought political favours to evade the law, with one deeply personal exception.
Addressing the controversy surrounding the late Sushma Swaraj assisting him with emergency travel documents to visit Portugal while his passport was revoked, Lalit Modi stated it was strictly a humanitarian matter.
'It was the death of my wife. She had a brain tumour. When it comes to family, what did I ask? My wife was going through surgery, and the tumour was not waiting. Do you think I'm not going to pull every stop or play every last card I have in my pocket to be with her? That card was Sushma Swaraj. It was who I knew. You have one call in life, one card you play out. I used my card then.' (ANI)
