MUMBAI, April 26 � Hours after being toppled as IPL commissioner, Lalit Modi today faced a series of charges, relating to the bids of Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab and rigging of the bids of two new franchises, apart from the broadcast deal, and was asked to explain his conduct, reports PTI.
46-year-old Modi, who was suspended and issued a show-cause notice on various charges, was also accused of keeping the Governing Council in the dark and taking decisions on his own.
BCCI president Shashank Manohar, who addressed a press conference after a meeting of the Governing Council, gave a clean chit to Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, saying there is no involvement of any of his relatives either in the present or the initial bids.
He ruled out any political interference in the functioning of the BCCI, saying as far he was concerned nobody can change his decisions.
At the meeting, Baroda Cricket Association president Chirayu Amin was appointed the interim chairman of IPL and a three-member committee of former players � Sunil Gavaskar, MAK Pataudi and Ravi Shastri � was appointed to manage affairs of IPL 4.
�Many of the records are missing. The IT is asking for documents. We don�t have them. We have asked BCCI CAO Prof Ratnakar Shetty to look into the missing records and papers,� he said.
Asked about the charges levelled against Modi, Manohar said the charges basically relate to the initial bid of Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab, allegations relating to broadcasting deal, bid rigging of two new franchises (Kochi and Pune), internet rights and behavioural pattern.
Attacking Modi, he referred to the former IPL commissioner�s statement that the entire world knew about the IPL affairs but said even the members of the Governing Council were not aware of matters.
He cited the example of Rajasthan Royals franchise of the Jaipur IPL team in which shares of two persons are sold and tranferred to certain individuals and certain companies.
�There is a company called Tresco and Blue Water... Nobody knows what is Blue Water and what is Tresco and all these things. I did not find in the shareholders register the name of Raj Kundra or Shilpa Shetty who claim to be the stakeholders,� Manohar said.
As regards Kings XI Punjab, Manohar said the bids were given in the name of a company and was signed by Preity Zinta who did not hold a single share in that company when the bid was given.
He also referred to registration of a company in Britain four months after which its bid was accepted. The company Emerging Media is a co-owner of the Rajasthan Royals.
�We are asking Modi, how can he sign an agreement with A when the bid came from B. Modi made a statement that the entire world knows who the shareholders are but the fact is that not even the Governing Council members know about Rajasthan Royals. I did not find the names of Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra in the papers and they claim to be stakeholders,� he revealed.
Manohar said many important documents were missing from the IPL and BCCI offices.
�Many documents are missing from the IPL and BCCI offices. Income Tax department has been asking for them but we don�t have them. Like the papers of the broadcast deal with Sony are not with us. IT department is asking for these documents but we can�t give them because they are not with us,� Manohar said.
For all the allegations against Modi, Manohar said if he manages to convince the Board of his innocence in his reply, the inquiry proceedings against him would be dropped.
�It is the duty of the Board to look into the allegations and to have an inquiry it is important to suspend the person concerned. It�s not punishment. The person has to be kept out of the Board�s functioning to ensure a free and fair inquiry.
�The Board would hold an inquiry and if Modi�s reply convinces the members, proceedings would be dropped,� he said.
Asked whether the Board was worried about Modi�s threats of exposing other BCCI office-bearers, Manohar said there was no concern.
�The BCCI is not worried. If there are other guilty, we will sack them and take the same action,� he said.
On whether he would share the blame for the scandal, Manohar said the whole system worked on faith and he could not be held responsible for entrusting Modi with the job.
�We are ex-officio members of the Governing Council and institutions work on trust. If I were to take care of everything, why would I need a secretary? There is no question of failure of Governing Council. There is a totally professional set up to run IPL,� he asserted.
�When I don�t have the documents about the benami funds in Rajasthan Royals, how can I say anything? If the funds come from say Virgin Island or Mauritius, I don�t have the documents to probe. In fact I got to know of all this only after getting the Income Tax notices,� he added.
Clearing the air over other media speculation on Modi and the IPL, Manohar said the chargesheet against Modi does not have any allegations of betting and match fixing and also denied the formation of an inquiry committee to look into the accusations.
�No inquiry committee has been formed since no committee is required. All decisions have to be taken by the Governing Council and that is the committee. If people are guilty we will sack them,� he said.
On the future of the TV rights deal with the Sony network, in which Modi is alleged to have got kickbacks to the tune USD 80 million, Manohar remained noncommittal.
�I am not an astrologer, I can�t say about something that will happen in the future. I cannot suspend a deal until I get the details, which I don�t have currently,� he said.
�Board doesn�t have any knowledge about the facilitation fee (the alleged kickback that Modi got) as we don�t have the documents of the deal. Only one person used to make plans,� he said.
