“I will have you raided by ED” – Former IPL chairman Lalit Modi levels serious allegations against Shashi Tharoor
Former Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi has leveled serious allegations against former India diplomat Shashi Tharoor in a recent video shared on Instagram. Lalit alleged that Tharoor’s wife Sunanda Pushkar illegally owned 25% of the now-defunct IPL franchise Kochi Tuskers Kerala (KTK). He added that the senior Congress leader warned him when he didn’t sign the agreement after witnessing malpractice.
Lalit Modi told figuringout.co on Instagram:
“I look at the 12 shareholders. It was supposed to be JP group. All of a sudden, it’s something totally different. And then I’m tick marking everybody and there’s one name I see out there a lady by the name of Sunanda Pushkar.”
“Sunanda Pushkar in the agreement have zero dollars in the 50 million dollars consortium but owns 25% of the team for free. Plus, for every dollar coming in revenue line, she gets 15% of it. I said I’m not going to sign this agreement. Immediately, I get a call from Shashi Tharoor, ‘Don’t you dare ask for about Sunanda Pushkar, if you do, I will have you raided by ED tomorrow. You’ll be taken by Income Tax and we will jail you.’ Excuse me,” he added.
Watch the video below:
Lalit Modi was instrumental in launching the IPL. He also ensured the smooth conduct of the 2009 edition due to a general election in India. In 2010, the representatives of KTK complained to BCCI that Modi threatened them to leave the franchise. Ahead of the IPL 2010 final, BCCI suspended Modi on 22 charges, including betting, money laundering, and selling franchises to family members.
All you need to know about Kochi Tuskers Kerala IPL franchise and its explusion
Kochi Tuskers Kerala franchise was added to IPL in 2011. They were owned by Kochi Cricket Pvt. Ltd. a consortium of multiple companies. The Kerala-based franchise played only the 2011 season before getting terminated from the T20 league.
BCCI President N Srinivasan announced that the IPL franchise was terminated because they failed to provide a 10% bank guarantee due to a dispute among the team owners. Only nine out of 10 teams competed in the 2012 season. The KTK players were auctioned by other franchises ahead of IPL 2012. The players with no bids had their salaries covered via the team’s bank guarantee from the 2011 season. In January 2012, the BCCI asked overseas players from the franchise to sue the owners.
In February 2012, Rendezvous Sports World announced they would file a court complaint against BCCI for KTK’s termination from the IPL. In July 2015, the court-appointed arbitrator ordered BCCI to pay INR 550 crore as compensation for terminating the franchise.