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Post Info TOPIC: Sunanda Pushkar aid of Sashi Tharoor holds 18% kochi ipl


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Sunanda Pushkar, Sashi Tharoor friend has 18% equity in Kerala IPL Team: Modi


Monday, April 12, 2010
sunanda+pushkar.jpgSunanda Pushkar friend of union Sashi Tharoor holds 18% free equity in RendezvousSport Limited, Narendra Modi Tweeted “I was told not to get in not to get into who owns Rendezvous, specially Sunanda Pushkar. Why?” IPL chairman Lalit Modi had tweeted on Twitter reports DNA


Lalit modi has named the stake holders in Kerala IPL team. 

The complete list of partners of IPL Kerala team as per reports areRendezvous (25% free), Rendezvous (1% purchased), Anchor (27%), Parinee (26%), Film Waves (12%), Anand Shyam (8%) and Vivek Venugopal (1%). Rendezvous free equity is held by Kisan, Shailender and Pushpa Gaikwad, Sunanda Pushkar, Puja Gulathi, Jayant Kotalwar, Vishnu Prasad, Sundip Agarwal.



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Tharoor on pitch, she enjoys game
12art.jpg

April 12: She was first noticed two months ago at Congress minister Jitin Prasada’s wedding, with Shashi Tharoor’s arm thrown protectively around her.

Sunanda Pushkar wore “a red sari and a low-neck blouse”, a guest said, recalling in mirth that some people were a little “shocked”, considering “the Congress culture”.

Today, as her name surfaced as a stakeholder in the Kochi IPL franchise — amid suggestions that the army officer’s daughter from Jammu was engaged to India’s junior foreign minister — some Delhiites’ minds went back to a T20 match played here last month.

As business chamber Ficci took on the foreign ministry across 22 yards on March 7, Sunanda had kept cheering the 54-year-old Tharoor’s efforts with the bat. She had been introduced as Tharoor’s “friend from Canada”, a source who watched the game said.

“The ministry team needed 112 runs to win. Tharoor was keen to play and said he wanted a bat before the game was over. So he got one of the ministry guys to retire. He played well and his team won,” the source said.

“He (Tharoor) wasn’t satisfied. He insisted that we play a 10-over game and we did. His lady friend was clapping away… the ministry won both the matches.”

Sources said Sunanda, in her forties, had a 13-year-old son from her first husband and ran a spa in Dubai, where she also held an executive’s post with an infrastructure company owned by the emirate’s government.

Earlier, she had worked with an advertising firm called Buzell and a travel agency in Dubai, and even for an IT company in Toronto, in between trying her hand at event management, sources said.

But she had needed no reference to her wide range of interests — healthcare, cricket, travel, IT, advertising — to wow the guests at Prasada’s wedding on February 16.

“She entered the venue with Tharoor’s arm around her,” a guest recalled.

“People who normally wouldn’t walk up to the minister did so just to find out who she was. But neither Tharoor nor she enlightened them. She rarely spoke but succeeded in hogging the limelight. Tharoor looked at ease.”

Tharoor, back in Delhi today from his Guwahati trip, was silent on his Twitter account about the marriage speculation, choosing instead to tweet about his experiences in the Northeast.

His associates denied he had any marriage plans; perhaps understandably so since the minister is yet to be legally divorced from his second wife Christa Giles, a Canadian working with the UN.

“Shashi Tharoor is not getting married to anyone. He is a married man,” said Jacob Joseph, officer on special duty to the minister.

Filmmaker Shekhar Kapoor, a friend, too denied the marriage rumours but did hint about a woman in Tharoor’s life. “No, shashi tharoor is not getting married and the lady in his life is not a beautician, the press has got it wrong yet again,” his tweet said.

Sunanda’s friends in Dubai, New Delhi and elsewhere, who spoke to The Telegraph, said they had received text messages from her giving a probable date for her marriage with Tharoor, by when his divorce proceedings are expected to be complete.

They said that if a wedding at all was being planned — a note of caution has crept in after the IPL controversy — it could be held on June 26-27, coinciding with Sunanda’s birthday. The likely venue is New Delhi, they added.

Sunanda’s friends said she had married Sujit Menon, a dealer in fire-fighting equipment. The couple shifted to Dubai, where Sujit organised a Malayalam superstar’s “nite” that turned out to be a financial disaster for him.

A disillusioned Sujit returned home to Kerala alone and later met a tragic end in Delhi. Sunanda moved to Toronto for a while.

Tharoor has a Dubai link too. In 2007, he became chairman of the Dubai-based Afras Ventures. He gave up the post before contesting the polls.

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Who is Sunanda Pushkar? Shashi Tharoor Wife!

Indian Premier Leagueabettor Lalit Modi has appear the data of the stakeholders in the new Kochi aggregation which is to accompany the next year’s edition.The aggregation that was endure ages awash for Rs.1530 crore has Minister of Accompaniment for External Affairs Sha****haroor’s abutting acquaintance SunandaPushkar owning 18 per cent chargeless equity.

Rendezvous Sports World, one of the ally in the consortium, has 25 per cent of the authorization for free; of this 18 per cent is

sunanda-tharoor.jpg

Sashi Tharoor and SunandaPushkar

accustomed to Sunanda and the antithesis is disconnected a part of three added Affair members.Modi in his tweets claims he was asked not to get into who owns the Rendezvous.

 

“I was told by him (Tharoor) not to get into who owns rendezvous. Specially SunandaPushkar. Why? The aforementioned has been minuted in my records,” he tweeted.Modi says he will anon be presenting a address on the affair to the IPL’s administering council.The Kochi authorization has absorbed all and assorted about the humans complex in affairs the team.Tharoor had emerged as a abruptness wellwisher of his accompaniment aggregation but has maintained that his role is belted to one that of “a mentor.”

The ownership papers of Kochi IPL team was inked on Saturday after the BCCI cleared the bank guarantee and other documents needed to support the $333.33 million (Rs1,480 crores) bid by the consortium.Sunanda Pushkarfriend of union Sashi Tharoor holds 18% free equity in RendezvousSport Limited, Lalit Modi Tweeted “I was told not to get in not to get into who owns Rendezvous, specially Sunanda Pushkar. Why?” IPL chairman Lalit Modi had tweeted on Twitter reports.Another interesting mystery behind Kochi IPL team is that, Vivek Venugopal, the only consortium person from home ground owns about only one per cent of stakes.Lalit modi has named the stake holders in Kerala IPL team.

The complete list of partners of IPL Kerala team as per reports areRendezvous (25% free), Rendezvous (1% purchased), Anchor (27%), Parinee (26%), Film Waves (12%), Anand Shyam (8%) and Vivek Venugopal (1%). Rendezvous free equity is held by Kisan, Shailender and Pushpa Gaikwad, Sunanda Pushkar, Puja Gulathi, Jayant Kotalwar, Vishnu Prasad, Sundip Agarwal.

1. Rendezvous 25% free,
2. Rendezvous 1%,
3. Anchor 27%,
4. Parinee 26%,
5. Film waves combine 12%,
6. Anand Shyam 8%,
7. Vivek venugopal 1%

Rendezvous free (25%) equity are held by Kisan, Shailender & Pushpa gaikwad, Sunanda Pushkar, Puja Gulathi, Jayant Kotalwar, Vishnu Prasad and Sundip Agarwal.



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tharoor and ipl link


Tharoor and IPLIPL Chairman and Commissioner, has broken the confidentiality of the IPL contract by disclosing the ownership pattern of the Kochi IPL team. He tweeted that Sunanda Pushkar, would be wife of Shashi Tharoor,  is owning IPL Kochi franchise by holding 18%  free equity  and she is one among seven people holding Kochi IPL. By disclosing the ownership pattern, Modi brought two hidden facts in to the limelight, i.e, Tharoor’s link with IPL Kochi and why he did he suppress the fact that he is involved in it. Should we think that Tharoor is openly backing IPL Kochi?

One thing we should not forget that the brain behind bringing together the five-member consortium and which helped Kerala to have a team of its own was Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor. Tharoor insisted that he does not have financial interest in Kochi IPL franchise. Whether is involved financially or not, it will definitely take some time to prove the reality. If it is proved positive, he will definitely in more troubles because 18% of Rs 1530 crores (the sale price of Kochi team) is a huge amount.

After naming Sunanda, Modi tweets that he was asked not to check the background of the controversial buyers. “I was told by him not to get into who owns Rendezvous, especially Sunanda. Why?

What ever be the reality, is it fair enough on Modi’s side to disclose the confidentiality of the IPL contract? Will he be punished for his stupid act violating the agreement?



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Kochi franchise threatens to sue Lalit Modi over disclosure

Lalit Modi
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NEW DELHI: Lalit Modi's controversial tweets over the ownership structure of new IPL entrant Rendezvous Sports World (RSW) led to a virtual showdown with the Kochi franchise threatening to sue the IPL Commissioner for breaking the confidentiality terms. 

Modi disclosed the names of the free equity holders in the little known RSW which coughed up approximately Rs 1533 crore to bag the Kochi franchise, a move which put Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor in a spot of bother as Sunanda Pushkar, the lady whom he is reportedly planning to marry, figured in the list. 

Miffed by the disclosure, RSW threatened to send a legal notice to Modi and accused the IPL Commissioner of breaking the confidentiality terms. The Kochi franchise has also complained to BCCI president Shashank Manohar about Modi's indiscretion. 

Modi wrote on his Twitter page that the free equity holders in RSW include Kisan, Shailender and Pushpa Gaikwad, Sunanda Pushkar, Puja Gulati, Jayant Kotalwar, Vishnu Prasad and Sundip Agarwal. 

Media reports have said that Tharoor proposed to marry Sunanda Pushkar, a Kashmiri girl. Trained as a beautician, she runs a spa and has lived in Dubai. 

"A lot of you asking shareholders and events surrounding the Kochi team. I am compiling a note shortly and will put an official release soon," Modi wrote. 

Modi hinted there was pressure on him not to reveal the details of who all owns Rendezvous.

"I was told not to get into who owns Rendezvous, specially Sunanda Pushkar. Why?" said Modi. 

Modi's tweets could land Tharoor in a fresh controversy as the union minister had vehemently claimed that he had no financial stake in the Kochi franchise. 

"All I did on my part was to offer encouragement, blessings and expert advise when required to the bidders. Beyond that, I had no role to play. It's a group of business people and I understand it's a business decision," Tharoor had said. 

RSW reacted sharply to Modi and even disputed his claim that Sunanda had 18 per cent stake in the franchise. 

According to sources, the Kochi franchise wants Modi to disclose the stake-holding pattern in other franchises like Rajasthan Royals and the Kings XI Punjab. 

RSW sources claimed that Modi was interested in having Ahmedabad as one of the franchises for the subsequent IPL seasons and was therefore creating problems for Kochi which emerged as the second highest bidder in the auction. 

Kochi and Pune will be the two new teams from IPL 2011.


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Modi tweet bares Tharoor’s IPL interest
New Delhi, Apr 12, DHNS:

The saga of new IPL franchise Kochi’s consortium turned murkier on Monday with popular league commissioner Lalit Modi tweeting the details of stake holders of the new team and the little known company threatening to sue him.

sports-sunanda-tharoor-twee.jpgModi, who seemed critical of Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor in his tweets, disclosed the ownership structure of the Rendezvous Sports World which coughed up $333.33 million (about Rs 1,533 crore) to bag the Kochi franchise. 

According to Modi, the free equity holders include Kisan Shailender and Pushpa Gaikwad, Sunanda Pushkar, Puja Gulati, Jayant Kotalwar, Vishnu Prasad and Sundip Agarwal. Pushkar, whom media reports have said Tharoor proposes to marry, is trained as a beautician and runs a spa.

Modi wrote: “A lot of you asking shareholders and events surrounding the Kochi team. I am compiling a note shortly and will put an official release soon” and indicated there was pressure on him not to reveal the details of who all own Rendezvous.  

“I was told not to get into who owns Rendezvous, specially Sunanda Pushkar. Why?” Modi wrote. Providing details, the IPL boss said: “Kochi shareholders are: Rendezvous 25 per cent free, Rendezvous 1 pc, Anchor 27 pv, Parinee 26 pc, Film Waves combine 12 pc, Anand Shyam 8 pc, Vivek Venugopal 1 pc,” Modi tweeted. 

Till late on Monsports-modi-tweet108.jpgday, Tharoor, known for his Twitter comments, chose to remain silent. The minister had played an instrumental role in galvanising the Kochi consortium, insisting all along that he had no financial stake in it.

He had merely stated that he had given encouragement, offered blessings and expert advise to the bidders. “I am not even sure whether I know all of them, nor do I have any knowledge of the decision that how much they were going to bid. I know this Rendezvous Sports World and had met the Gaekwad brothers,” Tharoor said in a Tweet. 

Latest reports said the Kochi team has threatened legal action against Modi and Rendezvous Sports accused him of breaching a confidentiality agreement by revealing the names of the stakeholders. The Kochi franchise reportedly wants Modi to disclose the stake-holding pattern in other franchises.

RSW sources claimed that Modi was interested in having Ahmedabad as one of the franchises for the subsequent IPL seasons and was therefore creating problems for Kochi.


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Team Kochi in trouble over 'secret partners'?


NEW DELHI: IPL action off the field is often more dramatic and suspenseful than the matches themselves. That’s certainly how it’s turning out for the consortium of businessmen that bagged the Kochi franchise. Even before it could set about building a team, the franchisee ran into trouble with the Board of Control for Cricket in India, which returned the agreement papers. 

IPL sources claimed the Kochi franchisee reportedly gave 25% of its shareholding for life to some unknown entities, free of cost when it has itself bid almost Rs 1,500 crore to obtain the franchise. The sources told TOI the consortium has been asked to present its case and sign the agreement, mentioning all its partners, in Mumbai by Monday. 

However, sources in the Kochi camp denied that any such transfer of stake had taken place. They also insisted that they would submit the agreement papers to BCCI on Friday itself. 

IPL sources told TOI, ‘‘BCCI has been confidentially told that a minister, a former India captain and a cricketer who’s currently playing for India are also part of the consortium. Their names should also figure in the agreement document’’. 

‘‘This free equity business will have to be investigated and that is why the Kochi team’s agreement has been returned. We hope the owners come clean on this. If there are seven partners or eight parties involved, let them come out in the open and sign the document. We have no problem,’’ a top BCCI official, who didn’t wish to be named, told TOI. 

The CEO of the Kochi franchisee, Shailendra Gaikwad, denied any such differences with the board. ‘‘I am not aware of such an event,’’ he said. 

However, other sources from the Kochi camp said that these were just ‘‘delaying tactics’’. ‘‘We have won the Kochi team fair and square and we are very serious about going ahead with it,’’ they said.


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Who is Sunanda Pushkar?



BEHIND THE NEWS


New Delhi: All eyes may well be on minister of state for externalaffairs - Shashi Tharoor - for his complicity in the Rendezvousaffair. An affair which threatens to snowball into something that caneven derail the team's very bid and future existence. Tharoor hasvehemently denied that he has any economic interest in the franchiseand clarified repeatedly that he only played mentor in architectingthe consortium. But what of the consortium itself? Who is RendezvousSports World? Modi is clear when he says that a central ministerexerted pressure on him not to reveal the name of the key beneficiaryof the free equity. The name in question - Sunanda Pushkar. A lady whois in the process of marrying Shashi Tharoor as media has let us knowon Monday. Ergo, the central minister can only be Tharoor himself.
Who then is Sunanda Pushkar? She is sales manager with TecomInvestments in Dubai. What is Tecom Investments? After all free equityamounting to anything between 18 and 20 per cent is serious businessgiven that the size of the bid was a staggering $333.33 million (Rs1533 crore). Twenty per cent amounts to a sizeable Rs 306 crore.Nobody gives away stake amounting to $66 million to an individual.Unless the individual is holding these shares in proxy for someoneelse. One can only presume that Sunanda Pushkar who is marryingTharoor and is his companion these days in Delhi's social circuit iseither holding these shares for Tharoor or Dubai Holdings which ownsTecom Investments. The fact that free equity totalling 25 per cent wasgiven to disparate individuals whose very antecedents were not knownthrows into stark relief the issue of transparency in IPL. Thatanything between 18 to 20 per cent of that 25 per cent was given toSunanda Pushkar compounds RSW's problems. Modi has called it, but thisis certainly not the end of this unsavoury matter. Rendezvous claimsthat Modi is favouring Ahmedabad and Gautam Adani over Kochi. If oneexamines the shareholding pattern of Kochi, then there is no clarityon who has actually put in this humunguous amount of money. Does theamount forked out commensurate with the shareholding pattern revealedby Modi? Logic says only 75 per cent of the shareholders would havecoughed up $333.33 million, after all 25 per cent was given 'free.'Whew, someone needs to tell us who is behind this venture?
Tecom Investments, based in Dubai, is a subsidiary of Dubai Holding, aglobal company dedicated to knowledge and life-improving industries. Acreator of vibrant knowledge industry clusters, TECOM Investments iscurrently active in buoyant cutting-edge sectors like ICT, Media,Education, Life Sciences and Clean Technology. A recognized leader inthe global knowledge industry, TECOM Investments manages entities likeDubai Internet City, Dubai Media City, Dubai Knowledge Village, DubaiInternational Academic City, eHosting DataFort, International MediaProduction Zone, Dubai Outsource Zone, Dubai Studio City, DuBiotechand Enpark. TECOM Investments’ phenomenal growth also encompasseslocal and international joint venture interests like Empower, adistrict cooling service provider established as a joint venture withDubai Electricity and Water Authority, Emirates InternationalTelecommunications Limited, a joint venture with Dubai InvestmentGroup and SmartCity, a joint venture formed with SAMA Dubai to developand manage knowledge industry townships worldwide.Emirates International Telecommunications Limited holds stakes inTunisie Telecom and GO, telecommunication carriers in Tunisia andMalta respectively. SmartCity has already laid the foundations of aglobal network of knowledge driven clusters through agreements todevelop SmartCity Malta and SmartCity Kochi.
Pushkar's Linkedin profile states clearly that she is working withTecom since 2005 as sales manager. Rendezvous Sports World is nowgunning for Modi for breaching the confidentiality agreement.



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No breach of confidentiality: Modi

NEW DELHI: The IPL-Kochi franchise is threatening to drag Lalit Modi to court for revealing the identity of Rendezvous stake holders and their exact holdings in violation of the "confidentiality clause". 

They also sought the intervention of BCCI chief Shashank Manohar by alleging infringement by the IPL commissioner. An unfazed Modi hit back by alleging that Tharoor had called him to request him not to take the lid off the stake holding pattern of Rendezvous Sports.

In a letter to Modi, Manohar asked why such sensitive information was put up on a forum like Twitter. 

According to Modi, after the Kochi franchise agreement was signed late on Saturday, no one could provide satisfactory answers to his query on the exact composition of the consortium. Minutes later, according to Modi, Tharoor called to say Modi shouldn't delve further into this matter. Tharoor was unavailable for comment when contacted by TOI. 

In an email to Manohar, a copy of which is in possession of TOI, Modi said, "I have minutes of what they said at the meeting. And in fact when I questioned who the shareholders were, they had no answer. In fact, they said they would revert back. Within minutes of me asking the same I got a call from Shashi Tharoor asking me not to ask about who these shareholders are." 

He added in the mail, "You had mentioned that we should ignore who this owner is but our condition requires us to authenticate who they are. What I have put on Twitter is in no way breach of confidentiality as who the shareholders are we have always provided in the past and it is not a matter to hide. Further, it is the Kochi franchisee who has a lot to hide and as such have lied about who are the actual owners of the shares." 

On Sunday, Modi had revealed the names of the Kochi shareholders on a social network site. He had also mentioned the name of Sunanda Pushkar, a Kashmiri beautician who has been romantically linked to Tharoor by news agencies. And Modi even wrote in his twitter account: "Who are the shareholders of Rendezvous? And why have they been given this 100s of million dollar bonanza?" 

TOI had reported on Friday that a former Indian captain and a current Indian cricketer are also part of the Kochi franchisee. 

Meanwhile, BCCI boss Manohar also blamed Modi for taking a lot of IPL decisions without consulting the governing council. "The BCCI is a body which functions in accordance with its constitution and doesn't function through the media. The issue, if any, could have been discussed at the governing council meeting and that action on your part of raising it on Twitter is unbecoming of you as a chairman of the a sub-committee of the board. Your action is in serious breach of the confidentiality clause in the agreement," Manohar wrote. 

He added: "Till date, you have made public statements about a lot of issues which were not even discussed in the meetings of the governing council when it is the governing council which has the authority to take decisions with regard to each and every issue related to IPL." 

Modi's reply was prompt. "I am happy to disclose all the facts at the next governing council meeting. As regard not raising it at the time of the tender - we didn't have the foresight to go through the voluminous documents attached to verify each and every shareholder. As regard to many other things I have said on my Twitter account, they have actually not been any classified information. It's factual and only something we have or would have put into the public domain." 

Modi then signed off: "I have no intention of putting BCCI and IPL into disrepute. I have always gone out of my way to protect both the IPL and BCCI all the time. My track record is there for one and all to see."


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Minister of State for External Affairs, Shashi is ready for his third stint in marriage. The woman in question is Sunanda. She's from a Kashmiri family, has trained as a beautician and runs a spa. She lives in Dubai but is keen to come back 'home' to India. When she does, she could be the next 'daughter-in-law' of the UPA government. Shashi Tharoor, minister of state for external affairs, is likely to get married while in office.(Getty Images/Jyoti Kapoor)
13 Apr, 2010


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Tharoor clarifies, denies pressurising Modi
13 Apr 2010, 0959 hrs IST, AGENCIES
Union Minister Shashi Tharoor, locked in a fresh controversy around the Kochi IPL team which he helped set up, on Tuesday (April 13) hit back at IPL boss Lalit Modi alleging he had made attempts to pressure the winning consortium to abandon their bid for the Kerala outfit. Tharoor also denied that he had told Modi not to ask details about owners of the consortium led by Rendezvous that bought the new franchisee. 

In a statement, the minister of state for external affairs trained his guns on the powerful cricket board official alleging that various attempts were made by Modi and others to pressure the members of the consortium to abandon their bid in favour of another city in a different state. According to reports, Ahmedabad was being mentioned as the other city. 

"I deny Mr Lalit Modi's allegation that I called him during his meeting with investors in the Kochi consortium in Bangalore on Saturday night in order to press him not to question the composition of the consortium," Tharoor said. 

Voicing his displeasure at the turn of events which saw him pitted against Lalit Modi, Tharoor also tweeted, "I have had enough." 

"Rendezvous includes a number of people including many I have never met, and Sunanda Pushkar, whom I know well," he said. Tharoor is reportedly planning to marry Sunanda. Rendezvous bough the franchise for the IPL Kochi team for 333 million dollars. 

Also, Tharoor's aide on Tuesday (April 13) tweeted on Lalit Modi and the controversy. Jacob Joseph- Tharoor's OSD has posted a news report link on Modi's past drug offense in US. Before that he tweets on how Lalit Modi's brother-in-law is co-owner of Rajasthan Royals, while Gaurav Burman, Modi's step son-in-law is a co-owner of Punjab franchise. 

Meanwhile, Minister of External Affairs SM Krishna is holding a meeting with Congress President Sonia Gandhi at 10 Janpath, where sources said that BCCI’s Media wing head Rajiv Shukla is also present. Sources said this ongoing Modi-Tharoor controversy is likely to come up in the meet. 

In his tweet yesterday, Modi had not only publicly disclosed the names of the owners of the consortium that bought the franchisee but had also alleged that he was told by Tharoor not to ask who these shareholders were. 

Tharoor said he was issuing the statement in a personal capacity to respond to the allegations made against him personally. He said Rendezvous bid successfully in an open and transparent process. "Their unexpected success upset the plans of a lot of powerful people, who had wanted the franchise to go elsewhere," he added. 

"Mr Modi raised assorted objections to the bid documents but finally had no choice but to approve them, " he said. 

Tharoor alleged that Modi's extraordinary breach of all propriety in publicly raising issues relating to the composition of the consortium and himself personally is clearly an attempt to discredit the team and create reasons to disqualify it so that the franchise can be awarded elsewhere. 

The minister also emphatically said he did not intend to benefit in any way financially from his association with the 
Kochi team now or at a later stage. 

"My role in mentoring the consortium included several conversations with Mr Lalit Modi, who guided us through the process and presented himself as a trusted friend," he said. 

A consortium led by Rendezvous was set up to bid for an IPL team, he said, adding, they approached him for help and guidance. "I steered them towards Kerala". 

Tharoor said contemptible efforts have been made to drag in matters of personal life which "I do not intend to dignify by commenting on them." 

The minister said he called Modi to ask why he was further delaying the approval of the franchise when all the legal requirements had been fulfilled. "Mr Modi had held up approval by the IPL of the franchisee agreement earlier in the day, by insisting on the reversal of a change in the document that he himself had earlier suggested. This change was made, the consortium members flew to Bangalore and met with Mr Modi after that nights IPL game for what they had been told would be a routine exercise.” 

“Instead they were submitted to a barrage of questions which led some to suspect that Mr Modi was seeking a further excuse to delay approval. This was the reason for my intervention with Mr Modi. Had he conducted himself in good faith throughout, no call would have been necessary." 

On the question of his interests in the franchise, Tharoor said he was proud to have helped the consortium come to Kerala. "I have neither invested nor received a rupee for my mentorship of the team. Whatever my personal relationships with any of the consortium members," he added. 

The "unethical" efforts that have been made by Modi and others to thwart the Kerala franchise which had been won fair and square in a transparent bidding process are disgraceful, he said. 

"It has been clear for some time that the real motive is to assign this IPL team elsewhere than Kerala. All of us in Kerala hope that the BCCI will not permit statements and activities which seek to discredit the Kerala team before it has even had a chance to prove its worth. The public attempts by Mr Modi to besmirch the consortium in fact bring the IPL itself into disrepute," he said.


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Tharoor aide calls Modi a ‘convicted drug peddler’


13/04/2010-
Bangalore: The war between Shashi Tharoor and Lalit Modi has intensified. The battle-lines between Shashi Tharoor, a Minister of State for External Affairs, and Lalit Modi, the Chairman and Commissioner of the IPL, have been clearly drawn, even as the war gets uglier.

Shashi-Tharoor-to-marry-third-time.jpgMr. Jacob Joseph, who is a key aide of Tharoor, said on CNN-IBN that Modi was a convicted criminal, who was charged with assault and drug-peddling.

Lalit ModiIn a no-holds barred attack, Joseph questioned the ownership pattern of other IPL teams, particularly the Rajasthan Royals. He also said that it was unfair to drag Tharoor’s name over his alleged link-up with Sunanad Pushkar, who owns part of the Kochi franchise.

“What is the controversy about the Kochi team? Is there anybody there related to Tharoor. There are a lot of people seen at different public functions with him. Why single out Sunanda Pushkar? He is married to Crista Gilles, she lives in New York.
“We have not got any communication from the BCCI. They have said our papers are in order. And for your information Modi is someone who was convicted for possession of 400 grams of cocaine and charged with assault and kidnapping.

He has even served a two-year sentence and those are the kind of people who we put in charge of cricket in this country.

“Why isn’t he releasing the ownership of other team members? Why does he not release the holding of Rajasthan Royals?”
“Lalit Modi has brought disrepute to the name of IPL and cricket. Tharoor has no links to any of the owners. He fought for the IPL team just like we will fight for an airport, for a seaport and any other improvement we can do for Kerala. We have no ownership, we have done all this for the love of cricket and for the love of Kerala,” he added.

Tharoor and Modi went on a collision course after the IPL commissioner went public on Twitter on Monday questioning the ownership of the Kochi franchise.

Modi trained his guns at the stake of one Sunanda Pushkar, tweeting: “I was told by him not to get into who owns Rendezvous, especially Sunanda Pushkar. Why?”

The lady in question is reportedly close to the minister. While not much is actually known about her and her link with the consortium that bought the Kochi IPL team, it is reported that Modi believes Tharoor played spin-doctor to ensure that Sunanda Pushkar gets the 4.5 per cent equity that is said to be worth between Rs 60 and 80 crore.

Rendezvous responded to Modi’s tweets by saying that he’s violating confidentiality agreements about ownership of teams, and threatened to sue him. The IPL commissioner was also reportedly pulled up by the BCCI president Shashank Manohar for his public disclosure.

Source: Cricbuzz



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Rendezvous Sports World threatens to sue Modi

April 13, 2010 09:27 IST

The Indian Premier League's [ Images ] new franchise Rendezvous Sports World (RSW) has threatened to sue IPL commissioner Lalit Modi [ Images ] for breaking the confidentiality terms.

Modi, who is an avid user of the micro-blogging website Twitter, disclosed the details of the stakeholders in the new Kochi team through his tweets.

Modi disclosed the names of the free equity holders in Rendezvous, a move which put Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor [ Images ] in a fix, as Sunanda Pushkar, the lady whom he is reportedly planning to marry, figured in the list.

Rendezvous coughed up approximately Rs 1533 crore to bag the Kochi franchise.

Modi wrote on his Twitter page that the free equity holders in RSW include Kisan, Shailender and Pushpa Gaikwad, Sunanda Pushkar, Puja Gulati, Jayant Kotalwar, Vishnu [ Images ] Prasad and Sundip Agarwal.

"A lot of you are asking about shareholders and events surrounding the Kochi team. I am compiling a note shortly and will put an official release soon," Modi wrote.

Irked by Modi's revelations, Rendezvous has threatened to send a legal notice to Modi and accused him of breaking the confidentiality terms.

A complaint has also been made to BCCI president Shashank Manohar in this regard.




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IPL boss Lalit Modi pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine, abduction and assault



June 03, 2008 14:54:23 

Indian Premier League boss, Lalit Modi, was convicted of possessing drugs, kidnapping and assault in the US during his days as a university student. 

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The conviction came after Modi confessed to committing the offences before a North Carolina court, USA.

Kishore Rungta, who was defeated by Modi in the battle of Head of Rajasthan Cricket Association. has claimed that the rules do not permit anyone convicted of a criminal offence to hold the post of an office-bearer.

In his defence, Modi�s lawyers say he did not serve the two-year jail sentence as he was let off on probation, and the Durham County Court did not give a final decision on his sentencing for drugs possession.

The Supreme Court has been hearing a petition challenging Modi's position as a cricket official since 2005. But the case has acquired urgency lately after the petitioner asked for a quick resolution, either way.

If the court upholds the petitioner's plea, Modi's position as vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India may also become untenable.

Modi's Drug Rap in US

In 1985, General Court of Justice, Durham County, had charged Modi with kidnapping, assault and possession of 400 grams of cocaine, court documents show. He then entered a 'plea bargain', which is permitted under the US law and allows a reduced punishment without a trial if the accused confesses to his or her crimes.

"Since the case was reported in the press, in order to avoid further publicity, embarrassment, protracted litigation in a foreign country, heavy costs and consequent intervention with his academic career, he entered into plea bargaining," Modi's lawyers wrote in a submission to the Supreme Court.

The Durham County Court accepted Modi's plea bargaining application 
and found him guilty of kidnapping and assault. The court sentenced him to two years imprisonment and fined him $10,000. 

On Modi's request, the court placed him on a five-year probation, 
asking him to undergo 100 hours of community service. The decision
on sentencing for possession of drugs was deferred for five years on
the condition that a $50,000 cash bond was deposited with the court This is a normal practice in North Carolina for first-time offenders.

Modi's lawyers say the US court did not pass any final judgment on the drugs charge in the next five years and the cash bond was also discharged. North Carolina rules allow first-time offenders in drugs cases to be given the benefit of deferred sentences.The issue of Modi's conviction has been haunting him regularly.

 




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Shashi Tharoor’s assets

First Published : 05 Mar 2010 11:16:00 PM IST
Last Updated : 05 Mar 2010 12:15:03 AM IST

It would be a pity if our delightful minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor continues to hog the headlines for the wrong reasons and were made to leave the job for being too gaffe-prone. He is articulate, personable on television, has mastered the art of speaking English with an accent not rooted in India and comes across as someone who is a walking-talking encyclopaedia on every subject under the sun. I am told by my friends in the ministry of external affairs that he is a good person to work with. He takes decisions quickly, asks the right questions, masters a brief almost immediately, does not need speaking points, makes it a point to greet even junior and middle level officials in the musty South Block corridors by name. Contrast that with the other minister of state. How many even remember the name of that person?

 

I am told there are certain ministers who call their sheet-anchor officers by a different name on different days of the week not by design but because they have gotten to that stage. Shashi Tharoor is nowhere close to that; he is young enough, good looking enough to take non-avuncular roles in some our of Bollywood films that require NRI accents with subtitles and a bit on the side. Shashi, I think, is the kind of person who can speak endlessly on Eskimo affairs to a person from Greenland, can gab for three hours and twenty-three minutes with a person from Ouagadougou on the intricacies of the various historical artefacts in the national museum of Burkina Faso without pausing either for breath or to gulp water. He is amazing that way. Absolutely Guinness material.

 

We need somebody in the ministry of external affairs who can swarm Lapps, Togans, Beniniese, Gabonese, Nauruans, Laotians with knowledge and appropriate language both in English as well as their native tongue and grab such obscure hearts and minds in a non-negotiable way that can translate into votes when we try to gatecrash the UN Security Council on a permanent basis. His UN experience must count for something, after all.

 

What we shouldn’t have is a minister who spends half his time in the Congress party office explaining to party hacks his English while trying to understand their English. (I could write out a skit; on request though.) We shouldn’t have a minister who spends the rest of the time prowling the net and switching television channels looking for unflattering references to himself and shooting off subtly chastising missives in an attempt to correct the reflection. Shashi seems to me to be the kind of person who always wants to get the last word in. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was in the school/college debating team or something and still hasn’t quite got out of that. He comes across as precisely such a type. This reporter had an experience with Shashi Tharoor where my former editor played — what’s that word again? — an unofficial ‘interlocutor’, much as it pains me to trivialise that loaded word. I had done a story (Sour endnote, Outlook, October 16, 2006). It recounted the way Nick Burns, then undersecretary of state for political affairs, sometime before he withdrew from the UN race, conveyed to a petulant Shashi that the US was not going to support his candidature to the post of UN secretary general and the US explanation to the then foreign secretary Shyam Saran: that the US assessment was based on leadership qualities required to head the UN, the implication being this was seen as somewhat lacking; moreover the US wanted someone from outside the UN system. When the story broke, Shashi began hounding my editor Vinod Mehta with your-reporters-should-check-their-facts-and-do-their-homework kind of mails. Unfortunately for him, the other weekly that comes out from Delhi also, simultaneously as it were, carried the same story saying more or less the same thing but languorously over two pages. The episode told me that Shashi Tharoor has too thin a skin. I’m afraid it is not a good quality for holding public office. Now that he is part of the ministry of external affairs he no doubt must have called up the relevant files to check for himself what the ministry was reporting on his chances back then. But for the record, no denial came from the ministry of external affairs; none came from the Americans either.

 

People are not infallible. This applies, I’m afraid, even to Shashi Tharoor. This newspaper I remember carried a review of a book Shadows Across the Playing Field: 60 Years of India-Pakistan Cricket wherein Shashi Tharoor wrote an essay. Our reviewer ruefully pointed out, “We are told on the inside flap of the book that he (Tharoor) has “encyclopaedic knowledge” of Indian cricket which makes it even more surprising that he has committed so many factual errors in his essay.” I looked for a number, naturally. This is what I found: “As for the errors in Tharoor’s essay, they are too numerous to list here.” I don’t remember Tharoor reflex-shooting us a missive saying your-reviewer-must-check-his facts kind of mail. It is good that our junior minister has friends in the media. I saw a story the other day saying something about a “storm in a v-cup”. Now I have heard of a teacup, A cup, B cup and C cup, but never v-cup. I was sufficiently intrigued. It turned out to be a sobering English language lesson on one of the lesser known usages of the word ‘interlocutor’ which the minister must have no doubt forwarded to those in need of the lesson; again I must clarify I didn’t get a copy from the minister; but funnily enough, the hoary paper’s editorial leaned in a slightly different semantic direction while castigating the government for “overtly drawing Saudi Arabia into the India-Pakistan equation” and “needlessly” opening itself “to the charge of diluting the principle of bilateralism” that governs New Delhi’s engagement with Islamabad.

 

In all fairness, it is not Shashi Tharoor’s fault. The story would not have been the big story had there been something substantive to report back home that day that wouldn’t put readers to sleep. (I will be happy to brief the minister, if asked nicely, of course). I am sure Shashi Tharoor did not mean to move things to this stage but he somehow manages to facilitate movement towards this. Really, I quite like him. He is good for this business. He gives us good headlines (“Shashi bytes himself, again”). His picture looks good on the page. He is a man with a future. Shashi Tharoor is an asset. But I have one advice: he must ask the joint secretary of the external publicity division for a list of words he must use only with caveats and a separate list of words he must never use. I’m sure there can’t be too many of them. The XP is very good at this sort of thing, believe me.  Otherwise it’s a slippery slope from being an ‘asset’ to dropping a phoneme (or is it two?) along the way.

 

sudarshan@expressbuzz.com

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Shashi Tharoor & wife Christa Giles – Richest candidate in Kerala

shashi-tharoor-christa-gilesShashi Tharoor is one of the richest candidate in Kerala. He along with wife have made investments worth Rs214.5mn in the US, Canada, Dubai and Kerala. Christa Giles (Canadian) is wife of Former UN undersecretary general and Congress Party candidate Shashi Tharoor.

The former UN undersecretary general and Congress Party candidate Shashi Tharoor is also facing an onslaught from the most unexpected quarter in next month’s election.
Two namesakes, Shashi Tharoor from Tharoor village in Palakkad, and Shashi Aroor are contesting as independents against the high-profile candidate.

Twenty-one candidates have filed their nominations from Thiruvananthapuram for the April 16 election. The others in the fray against him in Thiruvananthapuram are candidates of the Communist Party of India (CPI), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

Though the multi-cornered contest has added to his advantage and he has emerged as the favourite with the urban middleclass voters, the sudden appearance of the namesakes is confusing his campaign managers.

Officials said names of the independent candidates will appear on the ballot papers only after the official candidates of the authorised political parties in the alphabetical order. Even in that case, Tharoor will figure only after M P Gangadharan (NCP), P K Krishnadas (BJP), Neelalohitadasan Nadar (BSP) and P Ramachandran Nair (CPI).

Political parties say candidates with similar names file nominations only to confuse the voters. They vanish as soon as they file the papers.



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$ 50 Million IPL bribe Thursday, 15 April 2010

http://www.siasat.com/english/news/50-million-ipl-bribe

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New Delhi, April 15, 2010: The Kochi conundrum turned more confounding on Wednesday after Shailendra Gaikwad, CEO, Rendezvous Sports World, charged Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi with offering him a $50 million bribe to withdraw the franchise.

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“Modi was upset when Rendezvous Sports World won the bid for the Kochi team. After we won, Modi offered us a $50 million bribe to back out,” Gaikwad said, adding that the motive behind maligning Shashi Tharoor was to get him out of office, which could have scared away investors, leading to a total collapse of the Kochi consortium.

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“Since we are due to give only Rs150 crore to the IPL for the team this year, Sunanda’s share comes to less than Rs4 crore, which is not much considering the amount of effort she is expected to put in,” Gaikwad said. “Sunanda is expected to get us good branding, franshise and advertisements. The equity is in lieu of her salary, an arrangement proposed by her.”  According to a rough calculation, she is expected to bring the franchise business worth Rs20-30 crore in the first year itself and is unlikely to get any returns for the first three years.

“This is not free equity. Our company doesn’t have the money, so soft shares were offered. Our partnerships and stakes are all transparent and all documents have been provided as asked by the IPL,” said Gaikwad. Rendezvous Sports alleged that Modi had put Gaikwad in an uncomfortable position by asking personal details of Pushkar instead of going into her professional details.

“At 12:30 in the night, Modi asks me who is Sunanda? How did I meet her? When did I meet her? And all other details that I do not need to describe but can be understood. This despite the fact that all details about Sunanda, her PAN card, passport number, bank details and relevant papers were attached in the file submitted before bidding. Why did Sunanda draw so much attention in the list and not other women?” Gaikwad wondered.

While Sunanda has reportedly clarified to a news agency that she is “not a proxy for Tharoor”, another member, Mumbai-based Pooja Gulati, also issued a statement that her husband Sushen Jhingan, a senior executive with a multinational bank, had no role to play in Team Kochi. Gulati, who has been assigned to handle branding and the media as a director for the company, said: “I am an independent businesswoman and my husband has nothing to do with this.” Meanwhile, it is learnt that Congress president Sonia Gandhi has asked defence minister AK Antony to investigate Tharoor’s role in the episode.

Sunanda clarifies but doubts exists? SUNANDA Pushkar, the woman whose “free equity” in the Kochi IPL franchise triggered the political storm over Shashi Tharoor, claimed in an interview with the Indo- Asian News Service on Wednesday that she’s a woman with her “own business interests” and “substantial” assets. Her grandstanding, though, has raised more questions than she may have bargained for. She’s from a middle-class family that doesn’t have important connections. Her father, a retired Lt- Colonel, and his four brothers owned agricultural land and orchards, which they sold when the rise of militancy in Sopore made them abandon their village, Bomai, for the safer sanctuary of Jammu.

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And she has been holding mid-level positions in a string of companies. At present, she’s a sales manager with TECOM, a subsidiary of Dubai Holdings that is investing in commercial real estate in the knowledge sector. Pushkar’s regular career graph, in normal circumstances, would not have qualified her for an invitation from Rendezvous Sports World, the business consortium behind the Kochi IPL team bid, to “associate myself with them as a consultant in their various sporting activities and particularly in their potential bid to acquire the franchise.” What did Rendezvous expect a midlevel business executive based in Dubai to bring to the table?

Gabriella Demetriades3Gabriella Demetriades

What interest Sasi has  in Gabriella Demetriades? The mysterious link of Gabriella Demetriades also surprises many, but in cricket gambling, it is all routine things. Remember that some bollyhood actress begot a child through Richards!  April 15, 2010 – South African model Gabriella Demetriades was one of the hottest Miss Bollywood IPL 2009 contestants. Gabriella has been listed in the ‘FHM 100 Sexiest Women In The World’ nominee and there is no doubt she’ll be crowned Miss Bollywood title during the closing ceremony of IPL 2009 in Johannesburg. After an year Why Gabriella Demetriades’s name became the Hot News?  The story is here, IPL Comissioner Lalit Modi had approached Mr.Sashi Tharoor and requested him not to issue visa to Gabriella Demetriades. Sashi Tharoor went on to issue visa to Miss Gabriella Demetriades despite her passport not having 6 months validity left at the time of application. So, Why Lalit Modi asked Tharoor to decline her VISA! Media asked him the reason and he simply said “No Comments”.

Dubai connection: Sources based in Dubai say Pushkar owns an apartment in an Indian ghetto in Al Karama, the most densely populated part of the Emirate, which is famous for shops selling rip-offs. It is also the neighbourhood where Sharad Shetty, who looked after Dawood Ibrahim’s betting and drug smuggling business, was shot 20 times, allegedly by Chhota Rajan’s hitmen, at the popular India Club in 2003. This isn’t the kind of address you’d normally associate with a person who is given “free equity” worth Rs 75 crore in lieu of assisting Rendezvous “in the areas of fund-raising and networking”. She wasn’t representing TECOM, so what were the Rendezvous promoters seeking from her? The consortium could have hired the services of a professional public relations company for much less money. According to the chatter in Dubai’s high society, Pushkar and Tharoor were introduced to each other by Sunny Varkey, a Padma Shri awardee and founder-chairman of GEMS Education, the Emirate’s largest operator of schools.

Perhaps, these deals are above Islam: Pushkar, despite her mid-level management position, is a familiar figure on the ****tail circuit and Dubai Fashion Week, and she’s popular in this set as ‘Sue’. She features quite regularly on Masala.com, a Dubai-based website that dishes out fashion and celebrity news. Even her Facebook profile picture is from a party covered by Masala.com. In that photo, she is posing with Delhi’s Bal Bharati Air Force School alumnus Sachin Singal, a top honcho at the Channel 2 media group. The occasion was a pre-Christmas party thrown by Padma and Richard Coram, who are the owners of the entertainment and events company, The Talent Brokers. She’s the Dubai equivalent of a Page 3 person, but does that alone qualify her for the largesse handed out to her by Rendezvous? “I should stress that I have accepted no salary or expenses and am conscious that the equity remains only on paper for the foreseeable future,” Pushkar says. But Rs 75 crore, even if it’s a promise, seems a bit too much for the services that any PR or event management company can render at a fraction of that amount.

Yes Boss ? WHEN Shashi Tharoor’s officer of special duty (OSD), Jacob Joseph, declared that the minister had got a death threat from the Dawood Ibrahim gang, the spotlight was back on the 29-year-old who’s as Twitter-happy as his boss and has the reputation of being a motormouth. He is also seen at a respectable distance from Tharoor , who went to the same college as him, St Stephen’s,whenever he is with Sunanda Pushkar.

Jacob, who called IPL commissioner Lalit Modi a drug peddler, was present in Chennai last month during the bidding for the Kochi IPL team. His presence during the bidding process had raised eyebrows. Why was the OSD of the junior minister present at a purely commercial exercise where neither national interest, nor any constituency matter was at stake?  Speaking  Jacob said: “Tharoor is in this purely for the love of Kerala and the love of cricket.” Jacob had rubbished media reports suggesting an overseas connection in the bid — especially from the Gulf. “He is backing businessmen from Kerala, who are either based in the state or elsewhere in the country,” Joseph said. What he did not mention then was that the consortium that had the minister’s blessings — Rendezvous Sports World — consisted almost entirely of Gujarati businessmen based in Mumbai. And the only Kerala link — Vivek Venugopal of the Elite Group family — had a mere one per cent stake. A Tharoor loyalist who organised his Lok Sabha campaign in Thiruvananthapuram, Jacob has business interests in the Gulf (he owns a company that publishes trade magazines) and his wife lives in Dubai.

Modi interview  …..
There is a lot of heat on you because of the Rendezvous issue.
I don’t feel any heat. As commissioner of the IPL, I’m expected to be straightforward and neutral. I’ve discharged my duties in keeping with those principles. I did not favour anyone.

Why did you disclose the names of the Kochi team owners?
Because many people in the consortium itself were not aware of who owned the side.

Why did you not disclose the names of other franchises?
They are in public domain. If required, I will disclose them.

Some people have alleged that you have a stake in Rajasthan Royals.
I have nothing to hide. Many people have inquired into this and found nothing. Of all the teams, I’ve punished Royals the most. In the first year, I punished them for not spending enough on players. In the second, we sent back their key bowler Kamran Khan. This year we took action against Ravindra Jadeja. I’ve not shown any favouritism towards that team.

But your colleagues seem upset.
I don’t know about that. I will call a governing council meeting after the IPL is over and we will discuss everything. I will clarify any questions they have. This [chairmanship of IPL] is an honorary post that I’ve been holding for three years and I’ve worked without any selfish motives. I’ve brought in about Rs40,000 crore into the Board’s [BCCI’s] coffers. My achievements as an administrator speak for themselves.

Some have called you arrogant and a drug addict.
I’m used to hearing that. People are raking up things that happened 25 years ago. There is nothing to hide. I don’t run away from my past. I believe in performance and straightforwardness and if you interpret that as arrogance, so be it.

What about the franchise owners? Are they supporting you?
Why don’t you find that out? People like Mukesh Ambani, Vijay Mallya, Shah Rukh Khan, Bomidala (Srinivas), Ness Wadia, Preity, Juhi (Chawla) and Jay (Mehta) have taken the plunge [put money in IPL] because they trust my word. I’m happy that we have delivered a world-class league for investors and the public. Nine out of 10 franchises are with me.

What about the governing council meeting? Do you fear for your position?
I don’t. As I said, this is an honorary post and I have given all my time and energy to it. I sincerely think I have done my best. If some people think differently, so be it. I have no issues. I don’t fear for my position at all.

Modi son-in law  Intrests
Global Cricket Ventures (GCV), which has bagged digital and mobile rights for the IPL and the Champions Trophy until 2017, is linked to the son-in-law of IPL chairman Lalit Modi, Gaurav Burman, raising questions about the business interests of Modi’s relatives in IPL, now a Rs 15,000-crore commercial empire.

Gaurav, the brother of Mohit Burman of Dabur, a co-owner of Kings XI Punjab, is a director in Elephant Capital Invests, a company which has put $10 million in GCV, to own 50% equity in this Mauritius-based company. GCV, an online media and broadcast company, was set up only last year and within a few months snapped up various cricket related digital rights.

The jewel in GCV’s portfolio is IPL for which it’s running its official website, disseminating online match information and putting up pictures, said sources in the Shashi Tharoor camp.

Gaurav Burman does not appear to be just another director of Elephant Capital an impression that Lalit Modi seeks to convey. When Elephant bought into GCV, the media release of November 19, 2009, mentioned only Burmans name as Elephants representative and gave his London phone number for further inquiries. “This investment gives Elephant Capital a stake in an exciting online and broadcast media business…We believe that with the continued success of T20 , the value of these rights will appreciate significantly.”

When contacted, Lalit Modi denied there was any conflict of interest. “The internet rights are with GCV,” he admitted. “But there is no direct link to prove that I have a vested interest in protecting my son-in-law’s interests. What can I do if my son-in-law is a director of a company?”

Apart from Gaurav and Mohit Burman, another Modi relative associated with the IPL is Suresh Chellaram, a Nigeria-based businessman who holds majority shares in Rajasthan Royals. Chellaram is Lalit Modi’s sister-in-laws husband. The Modi camp maintained that the involvement of these three Modi relatives in IPL was a coincidence. “They are all businessmen and they sensed a business opportunity in the IPL,” an associate of Modi said.

Sources in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) the parent body said that while an agreement with GCV has indeed been reached, its key officials did not know that Modi’s son-in-law was a significant face behind GCV. On his part, Modi maintained that he had nothing to hide. “All IPL officials closely coordinate with the BCCI. I have nothing to hide,” he said.

Dawood THREAT  ?
Delhi Police, which is investigating the matter, is learnt to have zeroed in on Hari Nagar where a local number was used to send the SMS. The police is investigating a gym trainer employed with Constitution Club for SMSes sent to Rajya Sabha MPs Masood Madani and Brinda Karat on Tuesday; it suspects the same man may be involved in the Tharoor episode as well.

Dawood_Ibrahim.jpg

The SMS was direct if somewhat amateurish. “Lalit Modi se maafi mangne ko bol nahi to jaan se maar denge. IPL ke taar D company se hai (Tell Tharoor to apologize to Modi or else he will be killed. IPL is linked to D-company),” said the message signed by ‘Shakeel’. The police doubted any real link to the mafia but the minister’s security has been stepped up.

With Left on Wednesday joining BJP in demanding the minister’s resignation, Congress carefully considered the fallout as Parliament reconvenes on Thursday for the Budget Session. The matter came up at a meeting at Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s residence in the morning and after the controversy dominated news through the day, Tharoor met finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and defence minister A K Antony late in the evening. Congress bosses were clearly keen to assess how “defendable” his role is. In the US, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he would first examine “all the facts” on his return before deciding on any action. In Delhi, Congress’s chief spokesperson Janardhan Dwivedi was equally careful in echoing the same line. The party would also keep in mind reports that two NCP ministers – Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel – also reportedly tried to get the Kochi consortium to back off.

 

Modi told Tharoor’s office to deny visa to this model

Posted: Wednesday, Apr 14, 2010 at 0337 hrs New Delhi:

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/modi-told-tharoors-office-to-deny-visa-to-this-model/606183/0

 

 

Front

 

Model Gabriella Demetriades. Asked why he wanted her visa blocked, Modi declined to comment.

 

They may be trading insults and allegations since last Sunday but Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor’s office and IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi were quite “friendly” until at least last January. So much so that the IPL czar is learnt to have asked Tharoor’s office to deny a visa to South African model Gabriella Demetriades, one of the contestants for Miss IPL Bollywood during IPL 2.

E-mails between Modi and the Minister’s office in January show that the model’s visa was due to expire in February 2010 and Modi wanted Tharoor’s office to ensure that her request for the visa’s renewal be turned down.

The Ministry didn’t oblige — and Demetriades did get a visa.

When asked why he wanted her visa blocked, Modi declined to comment.

Speaking to The Indian Express from Mumbai tonight, before she left for South Africa, Demetriades, 23, said that she had arrived in India in October last year on a six-month visa.

 

“I went back in December to renew my visa which was to expire in February. While in South Africa, I lost my passport. I managed to get a temporary passport and, subsequently, a visa from the Indian consulate in Durban in January and then traveled to India,” she said. “I am not associated with IPL 3 and was here only to do modeling assignments and some commercials.”

Asked whether Modi played any role in her visa request, she replied in the negative. Asked about her association with Modi, she said: “He is a friend, we met during last year’s IPL in South Africa.”

The e-mails reveal that Modi kept Tharoor’s office informed about Demetriades losing her passport and applying for a new one. Demetriades, in turn, kept Modi informed about the loss of her passport and her visa application.



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IPL Row: Pawar's Daughter Says Family Being Defamed
NEW DELHI | APR 22, 2010
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Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar's daughter and MP Supriya Sule today said her husband and his family were being defamed by some people in connection with the Indian Premier League controversy and that he will taking legal action in this regard.

"My husband (Sadanand Sule) is talking to lawyers to take appropriate legal action against those who are trying to defame our name," Sule told reporters outside Parliament.

She was referring to media reports that Sadanand Sule holds a stake through power of attorney from his father B R Sule in telecasting agency of IPL, Multi Screen Media (formerly Sony Entertainment Television).

Asked if the Congress was behind the campaign, she said, "No, Congress is our ally and we have come together not for cricket but to serve the nation."

On a media report that Praful Patel's personal secretary had sent a mail to former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor with a document containing projections of new franchisee valuations in IPL, she asked "was it a confidential (document) or classified that should not have passed on to others."

Sule said "Prafulbhai or me have nothing to hide. My husband's role is that he is a cricket fan of India, that is all. He has nothing to do with any of this"

On reports about her huband holding 10 per cent stake in MSM, she said "His father was Chairman of Sony for years, since 1992. The whole world knows it. It is not not a hidden secret. He is 84 years old and has been unwell for a long time and that is why he (husband) got it but only as a proxy. Nothing else."

On USD 80 million facilitation fee allegedly given to sports management company World Sports Group (WSG) for securing television rights from IPL, Sule said "nothing. No. Nothing. I cross my heart and say this."
FILED AT: APR 22, 2010 14:54 IST

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Convincing Evidence of Facilitation Fee for Tele Rights'
The Income Tax department probing alleged irregular transactions in the IPL has got "convincing evidence" of payment of "facilitation fee" to World Sports Group (WSG) by Multi-Screen Media (MSM) for acquiring T20 league's telecast rights, a senior officer said here today.

"We have got convincing evidence of a facilitation fee of around USD 80 million paid by MSM to WSG," the official told PTI on condition of anonymity.

He said the search team had secured a copy of the contract which had the mention of facilitation fee having been paid and the broadcasting agreement between IPL and MSM.

A portion of the facilitation fee was understood to have been paid by MSM to an offshore company of WSG in Mauritius, a tax haven, without paying income tax on the transaction in India.

The searches, which were conducted by I-T officials yesterday at the offices of WSG, MSM, IMG -- all closely associated with IPL, and the premises of different franchises were aimed at collecting details of ownership and the stake holding pattern of the owners, he said.

"Whenever necessary, the department will summon the franchises. We are looking into the layers of ownership to find out if there are any proxy stake holdings," he said.

Industrial Conglomerate Adani group, which made an unsuccessful bid for a franchise in Ahmedabad, is expected to submit a copy of the bid document tomorrow, he said. 

"When questioned, Lalit Modi told us that a copy of the bid document by Adani Group will be handed over to us by tomorrow," the official said.

Indicating that the probe was unlikely to conclude any time soon, he said, "We have just begun. It may take months to complete the process. We expect to get some more clinching evidence (of irregularities) soon."

He, however, clarified that the fairness of the auction process was not in the ambit of the inquiry.

In another development, I-T officials today raided the premises of Red chillies Entertainment, a company owned by superstar Shah Rukh Khan, as part of their ongoing probe into the IPL transactions and scoured the documents.

A team of about six I-T officials are involved in the operations at the company's offices at Bandra, a source close to the development told PTI.

The survey started in the afternoon and is still continuing.

Red Chillies has an interest in Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), an IPL franchise, co-owned by actress Juhi Chawla.

The I-T department has been conducting a series of search and survey operations on several franchises of the IPL in the last two days.



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Pawar's daughter fights IPL allegations
NDTV Correspondent, Thursday April 22, 2010, Mumbai
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Senior leaders of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have denied that any impropriety -moral or legal - that could link them to the perfect storm that is wrecking Indian cricket.

Supriya Sule, daughter of NCP chief, Sharad Pawar, angrily denied that her husband, or his father, financially benefit from an alleged association with the company that owns telecast rights to the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches.

"My husband's only role is that he is a cricket fan," said Sule on Thursday, "he has no other role..please read my lips." On Monday, in an interview to NDTV, Supriya Sule had stated that her family does not have "a single paisa" invested in the IPL. (Watch: My family has no IPL links, says Supriya Sule)

What's flung itself at Pawar and his daughter is the fact that her father-in-law, BR Sule, is part of a consortium called Atlas Equifin, which owns a third of the company that owns the telecast rights to all IPL matches.

The deal that sanctioned the broadcast rights is  being investigated by tax officials because it involved an 80 million dollar "facilitation fee", effectively a commission,  part of which allegedly went to Lalit Modi, the IPL Chairman. (Read: Modi questioned about IPL broadcast rights deal)

BR Sule, as part of Atlas Equifin, invested in Multi Screen Media, formally known as Sony Entertainment.

Supriya Sule clarified that  her father-in-law's investment is not news; it is well-known, she argued, and she stated that he had at one point served as chairman of Sony India - a position, she stresses, he held in his own right as an acclaimed and accomplished executive.  However, after he fell sick, BR Sule, now 84, assigned signing rights to his son and Supriya's husband, Sadanand.

The global broadcast rights for the IPL were originally bought in 2008 by WSG for ten years for more than 900 million dollars. The TV rights for India were then allotted by WSG to MSM. However, in 2009, the IPL cancelled the MSM contract, citing, among other reasons, poor-quality broadcasts. MSM went to court, but after a tough legal battle, decided on an out-of-court settlement.

The new deal saw MSM paying more than a billion dollars to hold onto the TV rights for the remaining nine years. MSM also gave WSG an 80 million dollar (Rs 425 crore) facilitation fee as part of its agreement.

The smallest of the chinks being probed in this deal is that WSG should pay 40 crores in tax for the facilitation fee it benefitted from.

According to sources in the Income Tax Department, WSG should be taxed to the tune of Rs 40 crore for the Rs 425 crore contract facilitation fee. So far MSM Singapore has paid just Rs 125 crore against facilitation fee to WSG Mauritius; no tax has been paid since this payment. Also, once the entire facilitation fee is paid, tax liability will be around Rs 140 crore.

Supriya Sule, in her emphatic denial of all things IPL, also batted for her NCP colleague Praful Patel, saying he too had nothing to do with the league.

Through the last few weeks, Pawar and his deputy, Praful, who is also the Civil Aviation Minister, have faced quite a few IPL googlies. (Read: I didn't give Tharoor IPL insider info, says Praful)

Through all this, the Equifin stakeholders are now under the scanner.


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Multiple allegations about Praful email to Tharoor
Sandeep Phukan, Anjali Doshi, Thursday April 22, 2010, New Delhi
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(Left: Praful Patel; Right top & bottom: Poorna Patel)
First, it was tweets that stumped the cricket world, and by association, politicians. Now, it's emails that are causing chaos for politicians, and by extension,  the Indian Premier League (IPL). 

On Thursday, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel conceded that a report inThe Economic Times was correct. Two days before a consortium backed by then minister Shashi Tharoor made its bid for an IPL team for Kochi, Patel's secretary had emailed a sort of business plan to Tharoor. 

What transpired is this. Two days before the Kochi bid, Tharoor called Patel for information on business projections. Patel in turn called the IPL CEO, Sunder Raman, who sent the documents via email to Patel's daughter, Poorna, who works for the IPL. She then forwarded the email to her father's office, from where it was passed on to Tharoor.  

Patel denies that either his daughter or he can be accused of insider trading.  He claims the documents were not classified; a spokesperson for his party, the Nationalist Congress Party, said "on record, we were trying to help (Tharoor to) bring cricket to Kerala."

To most, the documents would suggest the opposite: a conservative business plan that suggests that it will take ten years for a new IPL team to see any profits.

The document projects that gate money or ticket sales rises from 16 crores in 2011 to 20 crores in 2010; licensing revenue increases by 2 crores.  As a result, a consortium, like the one Tharoor was advising, stands to lose 600 crores before it makes its first profit in 2021.

Given that Patel is accused of being predisposed to another group bidding for one of the two new franchises, to many, the real question is: was this email aimed at dissuading  the Kochi consortium associated with Tharoor?  

Patel has denied all allegations, telling NDTV  earlier this week,  "I do not have anything to do with cricket, the BCCI, the IPL or the bidding process of the IPL. "

The Opposition is also unwilling to overlook the fact that Patel's daughter was involved in the email trail.  One of the biggest allegations staring the IPL in the face right now is sweet deals for relatives.

BJP spokesperson Prakash Javedkar said, "As far as the Aviation Minister, Praful Patel is concerned, he has taken the entire ministry in losses...now since when has he become the valuation consultant of IPL, people have been asking because an email comes from the CEO of IPL Sundar Raman Singh ... to Poorna... and then it goes to Chanda Bhardwaj... who is the PS of Minister Praful Patel.. and then the same email goes to Shashi Tharoor..so what exactly is this league...it should be clear..."

Patel's party stresses that a government email account or office was not used; Patel's personal office handled the documents, and that since these were not confidential, Patel's record is blameless. 

The tweets by Lalit Modi forced an avalanche onto cricket and politics, knocking over Tharoor first, who was forced to resign from government for inappropriate patronage of the Kochi consortium from his home state.   Modi is likely to take the next fall.  The IPL governing council is determined to meet on Monday and ask for his dismissal as Chairman and Commissioner.  Will politicians become road kill in the government's new and formal drive to clean up cricket? That's what has many political leaders craning their necks. (Read: Praful Patel to NDTV: No link with cricket, IPL)


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Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot Targets Raje Over IPL Row
Accusing Vasundhara Raje of "propping up" Lalit Modi as RCA president during her rule, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot today said the BJP leader should clarify whether any state funds were pumped into the Indian Premier League.

"Whatever I had alleged during the campaign in the last assembly elections that Modi has acted as an extra-constitutional power during the Raje regime has proved to be true," Gehlot alleged at a press conference here.

He claimed that because of Modi's proximity to Raje, he used to pressurise officers for favours. "Bureaucrats went to his hotel room carrying files for clearance but Raje who was aware of all these happenings never cared to stop him," the Congress leader alleged.

Gehlot said that despite the protests by opposition and the media against Modi's activities, Raje "remained silent and this continued for her entire five-year tenure as chief minister of the state".

Gehlot claimed that Raje's silence would be considered as acceptance of doubts in public mind.

Regarding the purchase of two heritage buildings by Modi at Amber on the outskirt of the city, Gehlot said that it was being examined by the law department whether they belonged to the government.

On the court's stay on the Mathur Commission, which is probing charges of corruption against the previous BJP government led by Raje, Gehlot said, "Had the commission been allowed to work then many things would have been exposed".

On former minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor quitting over the IPL row, Gehlot said, "Tharoor is a good person but he did not understand the style of functioning and became a political casuality."

Gehlot said that during an earlier meeting with Tharoor when his "cattle class" comment had sparked a controversy, he had cautioned the former minister to be careful about his utterances.

The Congress president and the Prime Minister had initiated Tharoor into politics because of his international connections and personality so that the country could benefit from them but unfortunately he did not understand that, he said.

Meanwhile, the Indian National Lok Dal has demanded a judicial inquiry into the IPL controversy, saying that the row had brought the gentleman's game into disrepute.

INLD general secretary Ajay Singh Chautala told reporters in Rohtak, Haryana that the resignation by Tharoor was just an eye wash and an inquiry by a retired judge of the Supreme Court into the issue should be held to reveal the truth.


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Praful Patel, Tharoor Have Long Chat in Lok Sabha
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel and former Minister of State Shashi Tharoor were today seen having a long chat in the Lok Sabha, on a day their alleged link in the IPL bids for the Kochi team was reported by a newspaper.

Around 3 pm, when the House was debating the Demand for Grants for the Rural Development Ministry, Patel and Tharoor walked in one after another.

As Patel took a seat in the back benches of the House on the treasury side, Tharoor soon went there and sat beside him. The two then started their discussion, oblivious of the proceedings.

They sat together for 15 minutes after which Patel left the House.

The development came two days after Patel rubbished allegations of his role in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

However, the newspaper report today said his personal secretary had sent a mail to Tharoor with a document containing projections of new franchisee valuations in IPL.

Tharoor, who had resigned from the government on Sunday, has denied any illegality in his involvement in the IPL episode and Patel had said he had no role in the IPL.
FILED AT: APR 22, 2010 18:19 IST


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BCCI Bigwigs Set To Stay Away From IPL Awards Night





BCCI bigwigs are set to give it a miss in the wake of the spat with Lalit Modi but the inaugural Indian Premier League awards still promise to be a glitzy affair here tonight.

The Awards Night, to honour the best-performing players in the IPL over the last month and a half, is planned to be a Bollywood-style entertainment extravaganza in which Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar are to be the co-hosts.

Invitations for the awards function have been sent to all the BCCI and IPL's Governing Council members, all the franchise owners, players and support staff, along with the owners of the two new teams –- Kochi and Pune -- which are to make their debut in the league in 2011.

But if the BCCI officials, notably President Shashank Manohar, secretary N Srinivasan and his predecessor Niranjan Shah – also the current vice chairman of its sub-committee IPL – choose to give it a short shrift, it would come as a bit of dampener.

"We can't take a roll call and find out who all would be attending it. Whoever wants would be at the function," BCCI sources told PTI yesterday but according to latest indications none of them would grace the occasion. 

The awards function could also be the last time IPL Commissioner Modi, whose tenure at the helm of affairs is hanging by a thin thread, will be calling the shots at the Board's precincts as a strong lobby is working towards removing him from the post in the wake of the huge controversy surrounding it.

Among the jury panel is former India captain Sunil Gavaskar who is also a GC member while Modi is its convener. There are two other ex-cricketers in the Council – former captains Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and Ravi Shastri.

If the top bosses of BCCI skip the awards ceremony, as is expected in some quarters, it would amount to an indirect slap on the cricketers who have sweated it out for close to six weeks.

A total of 22 categories of awards, including nine jury awards, would be given away, but the suspense remains as to the persons who would attend it from the cricket administration.

Reporters from the print and electronic media have been excluded from the function while photographers and TV camera crew would be able to shoot the proceedings.

A further embarrassment awaits Modi who is considering moving the court to stop the April 26 governing council meeting which has been convened by BCCI secretary Srinivasan.

The BCCI top brass might also not attend the grand final of the Twenty20 tournament between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, which is owned by Srinivasan's India Cements Group, according to sources.


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I Helped IPL Kochi Raise Lots of Money: Sunanda
Sunanda Pushkar, whose links with Shashi Tharoor and IPL Kochi triggered a big controversy, admitted she has helped the franchise to raise a lot of money but denied acting as his proxy in getting sweat equity worth Rs.70 crore.

She termed as insulting accusation that she was acting as a proxy for Tharoor. "Can't I make my own money? He has not been corrupt for so many years-for which I am proud to be his friend-why would he be corrupt now?

Sunanda, 48, said she had met Tharoor two years back through a friend Sunny Varkey, and "we got along immediately".

"We are certainly close now, but that closeness only developed less than five months ago. I am very proud to know him because, most of all, he is good and honest man," she said in an interview to Tehelka magazine.

Tharoor was forced to resign as Minister of State for External Affairs amid allegations that he had misused his official position to get Sunanda the equity in IPL Kochi, a charge denied by him.

Sunanda said her decision to give up the equity was not for Tharoor as was being made out. She said she gave it up as she has no enthusiasm to work on it anymore.

Sunanda said she was bewildered by the allegations of corruption."I did agree to offer my skills as a marketing consultant. I have a knack for it. I also helped them (IPL Kochi) raise a lot of money. But there's been absolutely no exchange of money between us...It's more like a promisory note with absolutely no guarantee that the shares will amount to anything."

Pushkar, who is based in Dubai, blasted the media for turning her into a "slut" and a "brainless eye candy". She likened the media spotlight to a medieval witch hunt.
FILED AT: APR 22, 2010 23:21 IST


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Tax officials search SRK's Red Chillies premises
Press Trust of India, Thursday April 22, 2010, Mumbai
Income Tax officials on Thursday searched the premises of Red Chillies Entertainment, a company owned by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, as part of their ongoing probe into the alleged financial irregularities in IPL.

A team of more than six I-T officials were involved in the operations at the company's offices at Bandra, a source close to the development said.

Red Chillies has an interest in the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), an IPL franchise, co-owned by Bollywood actress Juhi Chawla.

The Income Tax Department has been conducting a series of search and survey operations on several franchises of the IPL for the last two days.

Earlier in the day, the Enforcement Directorate had questioned IPL Commissioner, Lalit Modi, in the city.

It is understood ED officials took Modi to Reliance Industries' Chairman Mukesh Ambani's office at Nariman Point. However, it is not clear if the two had met.

Modi is now on his way to Navi Mumbai by helicopter where the second IPL semi-final between Chennai Super Kings and Deccan Chargers is scheduled to be played later on Thursday evening.

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Mumbai court unhappy with tax exemption for IPL

Press Trust of India, Thursday April 22, 2010, Mumbai


Seeking to know whether Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament was a "profiteering" venture, the Bombay High Court has asked BCCI and IPL to give information on the income generated from T-20 matches that were played in Maharashtra.

The court's directive came in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Shiv Sena MLA Subhash Desai, demanding that the state collect entertainment tax from the IPL.

A division bench of Justices P B Majmudar and Rajesh Ketkar also asked the IPL to maintain accounts of remaining matches in the current season which would take place in the state.

The High Court directed both the cricket bodies to furnish copies of their respective constitutions, and memorandum of articles at the next hearing on April 26.

Among other things, the court has sought information as to "whether IPL is a profiteering activity...the manner in which IPL and BCCI are functioning in organising T20 matches", as well as how BCCI "controls" IPL.

On reports that IPL tickets are priced at as high as Rs 40,000, the court also sought to know the ticket rates.

Desai's petition alleges the government decided to levy tax on IPL at a cabinet meeting in January but the decision was not implemented.

However, government pleader Dhairyashil Nalavade told the court on Thursday that only discussion was held on this issue and a decision had not been taken.

While asking the government to clarify whether it intended to impose entertainment tax on IPL, the High Court also commented upon consumption of electricity due to the day-night matches.

"Government should have some control on this...such a waste of electricity, only for this entertainment?" the judges said, referring to power cuts in neighbouring townships during the semi-final match in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday.

Earlier, during the arguments, the division bench asked, "Is this an entertainment or a sports activity? If industrialists are party to it, why special exemption is being given by the state to the IPL? This is a serious issue."

The court also expressed its unhappiness over BCCI not instructing its lawyer properly.

Advocate Neha Bhide, who appeared for BCCI, said the cricket body had no time to find a solicitor's firm in the middle of IT raids and the current on-goings.

But court said this was "a casual approach", and BCCI seemed to be only interested in making money. "Court matters must get priority... Perhaps BCCI officers are busy watching the matches," it said.

The court warned that if it accepted the petitioner's argument eventually, it would ask state to recover tax from the IPL "retrospectively", i.e. even for the last two tournaments.

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Income Tax inquiries: Sahara surveyed, KKR summoned
NDTV Correspondent, Thursday April 22, 2010, New Delhi
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For the second straight day, the crackdown on the Indian Premier League continues.

Three Income Tax teams visited the Sahara office in Aliganj, Lucknow on Thursday. Sahara had won the bid for the Pune IPL team in the recent auction of new teams. Sahara sources say the Income Tax officials surveyed the office to check papers in connection with the IPL controversy. (Read: Tax officials search SRK's Red Chillies premises)

The I-T department sleuths also visited the offices of Royal Challengers Sports Private Ltd - the franchisee for Royal Challengers Bangalore Team - in Bangalore.

A statement from the RCB said that they are cooperating fully with the team and are providing whatever information or details being sought.

Meanwhile, Delhi Daredevils team owners, the GMR Group, has confirmed about income tax investigation. They say the management is cooperating with the officials.

On Wednesday, Income Tax officials had launched a nationwide crackdown in eight cities, searching offices of IPL broadcasters, the eight existing IPL franchises and the new Kochi franchise, which has been at the centre of the IPL controversy.

In Kolkata, the Income Tax department, which surveyed the Kolkata Knight Riders and Gameplan offices yesterday, has issued summons to both entities to come to its office and explain details in papers confiscated from their premises. A senior Income Tax official had told reporters last night that they had found "incriminating evidence" of irregularities. (Read: Incriminating documents found against KKR: Tax officials)

But the Income Tax Director General in Kolkata has said this is a routine part of the survey launched yesterday. Gameplan is a sports events management company closely associated with KKR. 

After the coordinated inquiries in Kolkata and other cities that are home to IPL franchises yesterday, the Income Tax department will now also monitor the IPL awards ceremony in Mumbai to look into the money spent on it. 

The contract given to the event management company and that for the television rights will also be scrutinised. 

The IPL awards ceremony will be held in Mumbai on Friday, April 23.

The source of the funding of the IPL and those connected with it, includingcelebrity team owners, are being carefully scrutinised by the government, which is trying to locate the deep, deep pockets of what's been dubbed the Indian Paisa League.

Those close to Lalit Modi, the IPL Commissioner who triggered the IPL explosion with a series of tweets on the ownership of one of its teams, say that the tax questions are aimed at disconcerting team-owners, who have so far supported Modi in his battle to stay on as IPL chairman. But there are enough people who argue there is no hidden agenda; this is what the government promised in Parliament - uncovering legal violations and corruption - in the billion dollar league.

Modi himself was questioned on Thursday by income tax and enforcement directorate officials at the hotel where he stays in Mumbai - the second time in 24 hours.

For over 45 minutes, Modi then met with Mukesh Ambani at the Reliance office at Nariman Point.  

(With PTI inputs)


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Rajasthan Royal's murky origins
NDTV Correspondent, Thursday April 22, 2010, New Delhi
shilparajstory.jpg
NDTV has exclusive details of the questionable murky origins of one of the teams Rajasthan Royals. 

In January 2008, the bid for the team was won by Emerging Media Cricket Ltd UK. It paid  2.5 million pounds as earnest money.

However, in April 2008, the contract was signed by Jaipur IPL Pvt Ltd. The Company was only incorporated in March, 08.

In May 2008, the balance bid amount of $77 million was paid by a third company EN Sports Holding Ltd, Mauritius. 

In Nov-Dec, 2008: Jaipur IPL Pvt Ltd wanted to offload Rajasthan Royals shares to EN Sports but the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), Reserve Bank of India (RBI) denied permission. Despite this, Jaipur IPL Pvt Ltd offloaded its shares funds through a bank to EN Sports. 

Let's take a look now at who holds how much stake in EN Sports:

  • Tresco International Ltd - Modi's relative, Chellaram: 44.17%
  • Blue Water Estate - Shilpa Shetty's husband: 11.74%
  • Emerging Media: 32.41%


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Incriminating documents found against KKR: Tax officials
Press Trust of India, Thursday April 22, 2010, Kolkata
Income Tax officials probing alleged financial irregularities in the cash-rich IPL on Thursday claimed to have found some "incriminating" documents during searches at the offices of Kolkata Knight Riders and Cricket Association of Bengal.

The searches that began last evening went on for eight hours and ended at 1 AM during when the CAB office bearers, including its joint secretary Biswarup Dey were questioned.

"We have some incriminating documents related to IPL and KKR. We will further investigate its nature and all transactions of IPL, KKR and CAB," Akhilendu Jadhav, an I-T official, told reporters in the wee hours of morning here.

KKR was among the four Indian Premier League (IPL) franchisees whose offices were surveyed during a nation-wide probe by tax sleuths on Wednesday. The offices of Chennai Super Kings, Deccan Chargers and Kings XI were searched in Chennai, Hyderabad and Gurgaon respectively.

"We are satisfied with our inquiry. This is a lengthy process and if needed we will come back again," an I-T official said here when asked whether they have plans to conduct a similar raid at the office of CAB president Jagmohan Dalmiya.

Dey said they had complied with all the details and documents that were asked for by the taxmen.

The I-T authorities are investigating the entire IPL structure, which has become a huge revenue-earning entity for the BCCI, since its inception in 2008.


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Praful Patel, Sharad Pawar’s son-in-law involved in IPL?


fc1606e2ff57f2237491cee860da0933.jpg
In his interview to NDTV just two days ago, Civil Aviation Minister and NCP leader Praful Patel had vehemently denied that he or his family had anything to do with the Indian Premier League (IPL).

But now a report in the Economic Times claims that Praful’s personal secretary Champa Bharatwaj had sent an email with documents attached to Shashi Tharoor on March 19, just two days before the bids for the two new IPL teams opened.

The documents in the email to Tharoor reportedly contained projections of new franchisee valuations of the IPL.

Significantly, the mail was sent just two hours after the same document was sent by the IPL CEO to Praful’s daughter and IPL hospitality manager Poorna Patel.

The newspaper, however, has quoted Poorna Patel as saying that she was only acting under IPL CEO Sundar Raman’s instructions.

But that according to the paper has been denied by Raman, who the paper quotes as saying that he had sent it to Poorna Patel as a key member of the IPL team, but did not know why she forwarded it to the minister’s office.

Two days after this document was forwarded to Shashi Tharoor, the Kochi consortium supported by him sprang a surprise by making the second-highest bid.

But Praful Patel has been quoted by the newspaper as saying that his secretary was only forwarding the information requested by Shashi Tharoor.

“Shashi and I have been friends and he did ask me whether I could help him with some information in the capacity of a friend, since he was putting together a team from Kochi. I spoke to Lalit and told him that Shashi wanted some information. Beyond that, I don’t know what information has been passed. If I was a bidder, why would I help out a competitor with information?” he told the newspaper.

Praful’s daughter Poorna Patel admitted that she had forwarded the mail to her father’s secretary, but said she was only following CEO Sundar Raman’s instructions. “Sundar had given me certain instructions and I was merely following that. Other than that I have no idea,” she said.

In an interview to NDTV just two days ago, Praful Patel had spoken out about the allegations that have been made against him.

Reacting to reports about alleged proxy stakes, Patel had said this is just a slander campaign. He said he had nothing to do with the IPL.

The Economic Times also claims that NCP Chief Sharad Pawar’s son-in-law, Sadanand Sule, has a stake in the IPL broadcaster which is facing allegations of kickbacks and was raided on Wednesday.

Now there are more insider reports that NCP President Sharad Pawar’s son-in-law Sadanand Sule controls about 10 per cent stake in MSM, formerly Sony Entertainment Television, the official broadcaster of IPL.

Sule holds the stake via power of attorney from his father B R Sule, the well-regarded former Managing Director of Mahindra and Mahindra, who has held the stake since 1992.

But speaking on our show India Decides two days ago, Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule had denied allegations that her husband had any links with the IPL.



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Minister's daughter diverted AI plane for IPL

Posted on Apr 23, 2010 at 10:19

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New Delhi: Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel daughter has been accused of used his father's clout to convert a scheduled Air India flight into a chartered flight for IPL. Media reports suggest that the IC 7603 Delhi-Coimbatore Air India flight on April 20 was aborted less than 12 hours before its scheduled time of departure.

 

It was allegedly done so that the aircraft could deployed as a chartered flight for ferrying Praful Patel's daughter Poorna and some IPL players. The flight ferried the IPL guests from Chandigarh to Chennai.

 

The airline allegedly re-assigned 75 pasengers of the Delhi-Coimbatore flight to the next one.

 

But Air India has denied any wrong-doing with Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav telling CNN-IBN that no passenger flight was aborted to accomodate a chartered flight.

 

"It was a commercial decision that we took. All airlines make money through charter flights and IPL was another client. We do charters for Army, RBI and several other organisations as well. There's nothing wrong with it,” said Air-India CMD Arvind Jadhav.

 

Diverting an aircraft from passenger flight to chartered service is forbidden under the law.



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Praful Patel's daughter pulled out scheduled AI flight for IPL
23 Apr 2010, 1045 hrs IST,Manju V,TNN
Poorna Patel

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MUMBAI: A Delhi to Coimbatore Air India flight, IC 7603, scheduled to leave at 5.20 am on April 20, was aborted less than 12 hours before its departure to allow the aircraft to be deployed as a chartered flight for ferrying civil aviation minister Praful Patel's daughter, Poorna Patel, and some IPL players from Chandigarh to Chennai.

Technically, the airline combined this flight with another one by putting passengers onto a flight which departed later. Diverting an aircraft from a scheduled passenger flight for charter operations is forbidden under the law if the airline does not have another aircraft to operate the said passenger flight at the scheduled time.

Yet the Bombardier CRJ 700 aircraft was pulled out of its scheduled flight allegedly on the demand of Poorna, the IPL’s hospitality manager. The aircraft (registration number VT-RJB), belonging to Alliance Air, was scheduled to fly the three-hour Delhi-Coimbatore route and return to the capital after leaving Coimbatore at 8.55am the same day.

"But Poorna Patel called the airline on Monday evening and asked for an aircraft to do a chartered flight to Chennai from Chandigarh. So the aircraft was pulled out of the fleet. IPL paid for the chartered flight but the violation here was getting an aircraft scheduled for a passenger flight pulled out at the last moment for a chartered flight," said an official.

A civil aviation ministry spokesperson said the ministry had nothing to do with the charter. Praful Patel was not available for comment. An AI spokesperson confirmed the aircraft was given for a chartered flight but did not divulge details about the client.

"The decision to operate this chartered flight was taken the previous evening and we informed our call centre at 7.20pm. The call centre called passengers on flight 7603 and told them they would be put on the Delhi-Mumbai-Coimbatore flight, IC 657," the spokesperson said.

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மந்திரி பிரபுல் படேல் மகள் விதிமீறலா?ஏர் இந்தியா விளக்கம்
ஏப்ரல் 24,2010,00:00  IST

 

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புதுடில்லி : 'ஏர் இந்தியா விமானத்தில் ஐ.பி.எல்., விளையாட்டு வீரர்களை ஏற்றிச் சென்ற விவகாரத்தில், மத்திய அமைச்சர் பிரபுல் படேல் மகளுக்கு எந்த தொடர்பும் இல்லை' என, ஏர் இந்தியா தெரிவித்துள்ளது.


ஏர் இந்தியா விமான நிறுவனம் வெளியிட்டுள்ள அறிக்கை:கடந்த 20ம் தேதி, டில்லியில் இருந்து கோவை செல்லவிருந்த ஏர் இந்தியா பயணிகள் விமானத்தை, மத்திய விமானப் போக்குவரத்து துறை அமைச்சர் பிரபுல் படேலின் மகள் பூர்ணாவின் உத்தரவுக்கு ஏற்ப, மாற்றி இயக்கியதாக மீடியாக்களில் செய்தி வெளியாகியுள்ளது.

பூர்ணா மற்றும் ஐ.பி.எல்., அமைப்பைச் சேர்ந்த சிலர் சென்னை செல்வதற்காக, கோவை விமானம் வாடகைக்கு எடுக்கப்பட்டதாகவும், இதனால் கோவை செல்லவிருந்த பயணிகள் அவதிப்பட்டதாகவும் தகவல் வெளியானது.இது, விமானப் போக்குவரத்து விதிமுறைகளை மீறிய செயல் என்றும் கூறப்பட்டது. ஆனால், இந்த விஷயத் தில் அமைச்சர் பிரபுல் படேலின் மகளுக்கு எந்த தொடர்பும் இல்லை. சென்னை சூப்பர் கிங்ஸ் அணியின் உரிமையாளர்கள் கேட்டுக் கொண்டதன் பேரில் தான், இந்த விமானம் வாடகைக்கு தரப்பட்டது. இதற்கான கட்டணம் முழுமையாக வசூலிக்கப்பட்டுவிட்டது. முறையான அதிகாரிகளால், வர்த்தக நோக்கத்துடன் இந்த நடவடிக்கை மேற்கொள்ளப் பட்டது. விமான நிறுவனத்தின் நலன் கருதியே இந்த நடவடிக்கை எடுக்கப்பட்டது



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ஐ.பி.எல். விவகாரம் - சரத் பவார், பிரஃபுல் படேல் பதவி விலக வலியுறுத்தல்: எம்.பி.க்கள் குழு விசாரிக்குமா?

First Published : 24 Apr 2010 12:20:39 AM IST

Last Updated : 24 Apr 2010 12:54:30 AM IST
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பிரஃபுல் படேல் - சரத் பவார்
புதுதில்லி, ஏப். 23: ஐபிஎல் கிரிக்கெட் விவகாரம் தொடர்பாக நாடாளுமன்ற கூட்டுக் குழு விசாரணைக்கு உத்தரவிடுவது குறித்து அரசு பரிசீலிக்கும் என்று நிதியமைச்சர் பிரணாப் முகர்ஜி கூறினார்.

 

 

ஐபிஎல் கிரிக்கெட் விவகாரத்தில் நாள்தோறும் புதிது, புதிதாக புகார்கள் வெடித்த வண்ணம் உள்ளன. மேலும் 2 மத்திய அமைச்சர்கள் இதில் தொடர்புபடுத்தி பேசப்படுகின்றனர். எனவே நாடாளுமன்ற கூட்டுக் குழு விசாரணைக்கு உத்தரவிட வேண்டும் என்ற எதிர்க்கட்சிகள் ஒருமித்த குரலில் வலியுறுத்தியதை அடுத்து பிரணாப் இவ்வாறு பதில் கூறினார்.

 

 

இந்தப் பிரச்னை உரிய வகையில் ஆய்வு செய்யப்பட்டு நாடாளுமன்ற கூட்டுக் குழு விசாரணை குறித்து முடிவு எடுக்கப்படும் என்றார் அவர்.

 

 

"உங்களது உணர்வுகளை பிரதமரிடம் தெரிவிக்கிறேன். இந்த விஷயத்தில் ஆய்வு செய்து முடிவு எடுக்கும் வரை நீங்கள் சற்று பொறுமை காக்க வேண்டும்' என்று அவர் எதிர்க்கட்சி உறுப்பினர்களைக் கேட்டுக்கொண்டார்.

 

அவரது பதிலில் திருப்தியடையாத உறுப்பினர்கள் இந்த விவகாரத்தில் புகார் கூறப்பட்டுள்ள அமைச்சர்கள் சரத் பவார், பிரஃபுல் படேல் இருவரும் பதவி விலக வேண்டும் என்று வலியுறுத்தினர்.

 

 

மக்களவையில் வெள்ளிக்கிழமை இந்தப் பிரச்னையை எதிர்க்கட்சித் தலைவர் சுஷ்மா ஸ்வராஜ் எழுப்பினார்.

 

ஐபிஎல் விவகாரம் நாளுக்கு நாள் தீவிரமாகி வருகிறது. எனவே இந்த அவையின் கண்ணியத்தை காக்க வேண்டுமானால் இது குறித்து நாடாளுமன்ற கூட்டுக் குழு விசாரணைக்கு உத்தரவிட வேண்டும் என்றார் அவர்.

 

அமைச்சர்கள் சம்பந்தப்பட்டிருப்பதால் விசாரணை அமைப்புகளால் இந்த விவகாரத்தில் சிறப்பாக விசாரிக்க முடியாது. விசாரணை நியாயமாக நடைபெற வேண்டுமானால் நாடாளுமன்ற கூட்டுக் குழு விசாரிக்க வேண்டும் என்று அவர் வலியுறுத்தினார்.

 

 

ஐக்கிய ஜனதாதள தலைவர் சரத் யாதவும் இதே கருத்தை வலியுறுத்திப் பேசினார். தற்போது எழுந்துள்ள குற்றச்சாட்டுகளுக்கு நாடாளுமன்றத்துக்கும் நாட்டு மக்களுக்கும் பதிலளிக்க வேண்டியது ஐபிஎல் அமைப்பின் கடமை என்றார் அவர்.

 

 

கறுப்பு பணம் மோரீஷஸ் மற்றும் சுவிஸ் வங்கிகளிலிருந்து ஐபிஎல் கிரிக்கெட்டில் முதலீடு செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளது. எனவே நாடாளுமன்ற கூட்டு குழு விசாரணை அவசியம் என்றார் அவர்.

 

 

இதே கருத்தை மார்க்சிஸ்ட் தலைவர் பாசுதேவ் ஆச்சார்யா வலியுறுத்தினார். "இது கிரிக்கெட் அல்ல. முழுக்க முழுக்க வர்த்தகம்'என்றும் அவர் கூறினார்.

 

ஐபிஎல் கிரிக்கெட் போட்டிகள் தொடர்பான விவகாரங்கள் சுதந்திர இந்தியாவில் நடைபெற்ற மிகப் பெரிய மோசடி என்று வர்ணித்தார் இந்திய கம்யூனிஸ்ட் கட்சித் தலைவர் குருதாஸ் தாஸ் குப்தா.

 

 

அரசின் அனுமதியோடு மன்னிக்க முடியாத அளவில் சட்ட மீறல் நடந்துள்ளது என்றும் அவர் குற்றம்சாட்டினார்.

 

 

கடந்த 21 மாதங்களாக ஐபிஎல் வர்த்தகம் தொடர்பாக வருமான வரி கணக்கு காட்டப்படவில்லை என்று வருமான வரித்துறை தெரிவித்துள்ளது என்றார் அவர். நான் வருமான வரி கணக்கை செலுத்தி வருகிறேன். ஆனால் ஐபிஎல் ஏன் வருமான வரி கணக்கை செலுத்துவதில்லை என்றார் அவர்.

 

 

அன்னிய பண முதலீடு குறித்து விசாரிக்க வேண்டும் என்றும் அவர் வலியுறுத்தினார்.

 

 

இந்த விவகாரத்தில் மேலும் 2 மத்திய அமைச்சர்களுக்கு தொடர்பு இருப்பதாக செய்திகள் வெளியாகி உள்ளன. அதிகாரத்தை தவறாக பயன்படுத்தி உள்ளதாக புகார் கூறப்படுகிறது. விமானப் போக்குவரத்து அமைச்சர் பிரஃபுல் படேலின் மகள் பூர்ணா, பயணிகள் விமானத்தை ரத்து செய்ய வைத்து கிரிக்கெட் வீரர்களுக்காக தனி விமானமாக பயன்படுத்தி உள்ளதாக புகார் கூறப்படுகிறது. இது அதிகார துஷ்பிரயோகம் என்று எதிர்க்கட்சி உறுப்பினர்கள் குற்றம்சாட்டினர்.

 

 

எனவே நாடாளுமன்ற கூட்டுக் குழு விசாரணைக்கு உத்தரவிட வேண்டும் என்று வலியுறுத்தினர். ஆனால் இந்த கோரிக்கையை உடனடியாக ஏற்க முடியாது என்று அமைச்சர் பிரணாப் கூறியதை அடுத்து எதிர்க்கட்சியினர் ஆர்ப்பாட்டத்தில் ஈடுபட்டனர்.

 

 

இதனால் அமளி ஏற்பட்டது. இதையடுத்து பகல் 12 மணி வரை அவையை ஒத்திவைத்தார் அவைத் தலைவர் மீராகுமார்.

 

 

மீண்டும் அவை கூடியபோதும் எதிர்க்கட்சியினர் தொடர்ந்து தங்களது கோரிக்கையை வலியுறுத்திய வண்ணம் இருந்தனர். இதனால் அவை நிகழ்ச்சிகளை நடத்த இயலவில்லை. இதைத் தொடர்ந்து பிற்பகல் 2 மணி வரை அவை ஒத்திவைக்கப்பட்டது.

 

மாநிலங்களவையிலும் இந்தப் பிரச்னை எழுப்பப்பட்டது. பாஜக, அதிமுக, சமாஜவாதி, இடதுசாரி கட்சி உறுப்பினர்கள் இந்தப் பிரச்னை எழுப்பி நாடாளுமன்ற கூட்டுக் குழு விசாரணை கோரினர். இதனால் அமளி ஏற்பட்டு அவை இரு முறை ஒத்திவைக்கப்பட்டது.

 

 

அமைச்சர் பிரஃபுல் படேல், கொச்சி அணி ஏலத் தொகை தொடர்பான விவரங்களை லலித் மோடியிடம் இருந்து வாங்கி அதை சசிதரூரிடம் அளித்தார் என்று குற்றம்சாட்டப்பட்டுள்ளது.

 

 

அதுபோல், மத்திய அமைச்சர் சரத் பவாரின் மருமகன் சதானந்த் சுலேவுக்கு ஐபிஎல் போட்டிகளை ஒளிபரப்பும் சோனி தொலைக்காட்சி நிறுவனத்தில் பங்கு உள்ளது என்றும் குற்றச்சாட்டு எழுந்துள்ளது.

 

 

பிரணாப்பிடம் விளக்கம் அளித்தார் சுக்லா

 

 

புதுதில்லி, ஏப். 23: ஐபிஎல் கிரிக்கெட் அணிகள் ஏல விவகாரம் தொடர்பாக நிதியமைச்சர் பிரணாப் முகர்ஜியிடம் இந்திய கிரிக்கெட் கட்டுப்பாட்டு வாரிய துணைத் தலைவர் ராஜீவ் சுக்லா வெள்ளிக்கிழமை விளக்கம் அளித்தார்.

 

 

காங்கிரஸ் எம்.பி.யாக உள்ள சுக்லா, நாடாளுமன்ற வளாகத்தில் உள்ள பிரணாப் முகர்ஜியின் அலுவலகத்தில் அவரைச் சந்தித்து ஐபிஎல் ஏலம் தொடர்பான அனைத்து விவரங்களையும் கொச்சி அணி ஏலத்தில் ஏற்பட்டுள்ள சர்ச்சை குறித்தும் விளக்கிக் கூறினார்.

 

 

முன்னதாக,ஐபிஎல் கிரிக்கெட்  அமைப்பின் தலைவர் லலித் மோடி பதவியில் நீடிப்பது தொடர்பாக இந்திய கிரிக்கெட் வாரியத் தலைவர் சஷாங்க் மனோகர், துணைத் தலைவர் அருண் ஜேட்லி மற்றும் நிர்வாகிகளுடன் சுக்லா ஆலோசனை நடத்தினார். இதில் லலித் மோடி மீது சுமத்தப்பட்டுள்ள குற்றச்சாட்டு குறித்தும் விரிவாக ஆராயப்பட்டது.

 

 

இதற்கிடையே ஐபிஎல் நிர்வாகக் குழுக் கூட்டம் வரும் 26-ம் தேதி நடைபெறுகிறது. இந்தக் கூட்டத்தில் தற்போது எழுந்துள்ள சர்ச்சைகள் விவாதிக்கப்பட உள்ளது. ஆனால் இந்த கூட்டத்தை மோடி புறக்கணிக்கக் கூடும் என்று கூறப்படுகிறது.

 

 

ஐபிஎல் நிர்வாகக் குழு அனுமதி கொடுக்காவிட்டாலும் கூட விதி 32-ன் படி லலித் மோடியை நீக்க இந்திய கிரிக்கெட் கட்டுப்பாட்டு வாரியத்துக்கு அதிகாரம் உள்ளது என்று கிரிக்கெட் வாரிய வட்டாரங்கள் தெரிவித்தன.

 

இதற்கு முன் சுக்லா, பிரதமர் மன்மோகன் சிங்கை சந்தித்தும் விளக்கம் அளித்துள்ளார்.

 

 

வீரர்களுக்கு தனி விமானம்: அமைச்சர் மகளுக்கு தொடர்பா?

 

 

புதுதில்லி, ஏப். 23: ஐபிஎல் கிரிக்கெட் வீரர்களுக்காக சண்டீகரில் இருந்து சென்னைக்கு தனி விமானம் இயக்கப்பட்டதில் விமானப் போக்குவரத்து அமைச்சர் பிரஃபுல் படேலின் மகள் பூர்ணாவுக்கு தொடர்பில்லை என்று ஏர் இந்தியா நிறுவனம் தெரிவித்துள்ளது.

 

 

விதிகளுக்கு உட்பட்டே சண்டீகரிலிருந்து சென்னைக்கு தனி விமானம் இயக்கப்பட்டது என்றும் அவர் கூறினார்.

 

 

சென்னை சூப்பர் கிங்ஸ் உரிமையாளர்  இந்தியா சிமெண்ட் நிறுவனம் சார்பிலேயே தனி விமானம் இயக்குவதற்கு கோரப்பட்டது என்று ஏர் இந்தியா நிறுவனம் வெளியிட்ட அறிக்கையில் கூறப்பட்டுள்ளது.

 

 

தனி விமானத்தை இயக்குமாறு பூர்ணா கோரவுமில்லை. அந்த விமானத்தில் அவர் பயணம் செய்யவுமில்லை என்று அந்த அறிக்கையில் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

 

 

பயணிகளுக்காக ஏற்கெனவே இயக்கப்படும் விமானத்தை ரத்து செய்துவிட்டு அதை   கிரிக்கெட் வீரர்களுக்கு தனி விமானமாக இயக்க ஏர் இந்தியா நிறுவனத்திடம் பூர்ணா கேட்டுக்கொண்டார். அதன்படி தனி விமானம் இயக்கப்பட்டது என்று செய்தி வெளியானது. இந்த செய்தியை ஏர் இந்தியா மறுத்துள்ளது.

 



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RTI threatens to make Shashi Tharoor run for cover

Pankaj Sharma / DNA
Saturday, April 24, 2010 3:29 IST

Shashi Tharoor has been caught on the wrong foot once again.


On January 16, Tharoor went to town on Twitter blasting a media report which said he had misused his ministerial clout in making his ministry purchase his books for Indian missions abroad. “Truth is irrelevant 4th (for the) bash ST (Shashi Tharoor) brigade,” Tharoor wrote.The response to an RTI query seems to disprove his contention that he had nothing to do with a Rs3.27-lakh purchase of books authored by him by the foreign ministry when he was junior minister. However, the response doesn’t strongly imply that Tharoor was necessarily aware of the decision.

He said he had told “the journalist that my books had been bought by MEA years before I had anything to do with government, no idea they had again last year.
“It’s contemptible that despite this, they wld (would) imply I orchestrated a decision I was not even aware of.”

The books are The Great Indian Novel, India: From Midnight to the Millennium, and the coffee table book India in collaboration with photographer Ferrante Ferranti — all published by Penguin — 150 copies each of which were purchased by the ministry.

In the tweet, Tharoor also wrote: “Just for the record, my staff & I have nothing to do with MEA book purchases & I was completely unaware of mine being amongst those bought.”

The matter was treated as closed after Tharoor’s rebuttal.

But activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal has received documents (in response to his RTI query) by the ministry’s publicity officer KG Kaushik which show that the ministry placed the order for the books on September 29, 2009, four months after Tharoor’s swearing-in.

The media report against which Tharoor tweeted said: “While Tharoor may be technically right that he was not involved in the selection process, propriety demanded that he should have advised the ministry not to purchase his own books lest it be misconstrued.”

Has RTI nailed another lie?



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காங்கிரஸ் எம்.பி. நிறுவனத்தில் ஷாருக்கான் ரூ.10 கோடி முதலீடு
[ ஞாயிற்றுக்கிழமை, 25 ஏப்ரல் 2010, 09:21.11 AM GMT +05:30 ]
நடிகர் ஷாருக்கான் காங்கிரஸ் எம்.பி. நிறுவனத்தில் ரூ.10 கோடி முதலீடு செய்துள்ளார். ஐ.பி.எல். முறைகேடு தொடர்பாக வருமான வரித்துறையினர் பல்வேறு கோணங்களில் விசாரித்து வருகின்றனர்.
நடிகர் ஷாருக்கான் கொல்கத்தா அணியை வாங்கி உள்ளார். இதிலும் முறை கேடு நடந்து இருப்பது தெரியவந்தது. இதனால் கொல்கத்தா அணி அலுவலகத்தில் வருமான வரி அதிகாரிகள் திடீர் சோதனை நடத்தினார்கள். இதில் முறைகேடு நடந்ததற்கான சில ஆதாரங்கள் சிக்கி இருப்பதாக வருமான வரி அதிகாரிகள் தெரிவித்தனர். 

கொல்கத்தா அணியை ஷாருக்கான் வாங்குவதற்கு பல கோடி ரூபாய் பணம் வெளிநாடுகளில் இருந்து வந்துள்ளது. மொரீசியஸ் நாட்டில் இருந்து பெருந்தொகை வந்துள்ளது. இதில் தான் முறைகேடு நடந்து இருக்கலாம் என்று கருதப்படுகிறது. ஷாருக்கான் யாருக்கோ பினாமியாக செயல்பட்டு வரிஏய்ப்பு செய்ய அல்லது கறுப்பு பணத்தை வெள்ளையாக்க உதவி இருக்கலாம் என்று சந்தேகிக்கப்படுகிறது. 

இது பற்றி வருமான வரி அதிகாரிகள் முழுமையாக விசாரணை நடத்தி வருகிறார்கள். 

இந்த நிலையில் ஷாருக்கான் காங்கிரஸ் எம்.பி. ராஜீவ் சுக்லா நடத்தும் நிறுவனத்தில் ரூ.10 கோடி முதலீடு செய்து இருப்பது கண்டு பிடிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. ராஜீவ் சுக்லா “பேக் கிளாமர்” என்ற பெயரில் மீடியா நிறுவனம் ஒன்றை நடத்தி வருகிறார். இந்த நிறுவனம் சினிமா தயாரிப்பது உள்ளிட்ட பல்வேறு தொழில்களில் ஈடுபட்டுள்ளது. 

இதில் ஷாருக்கான் 2008-ம் ஆண்டு பிப்ரவரி மாதம் ரூ.10 கோடி முதலீடு செய்து இருக்கிறார். இத்தனைக்கும் இந்த நிறுவனம் நலிவடைந்த நிறுவனங்களில் ஒன்றாக இருந்தது. 2007-08 நிதி ஆண்டில் ரூ.90 கோடி நஷ்டம் அடைந்து இருந்தது. நஷ்டத்தில் செயல்படும் நிறுவனத்தில் யாரும் முதலீடு செய்ய மாட்டார்கள். ஆனால் அதில் ஷாருக்கான் முதலீடு செய்தது பல்வேறு சந்தேகங்களை ஏற்படுத்துகிறது. 

ராஜீவ் சுக்லா ஐ.பி.எல் ஆட்சிக்குழு உறுப்பினராக வும், இந்திய கிரிக்கெட் சங்க நிதி கமிட்டி தலைவராகவும் இருக்கிறார். எனவே இவர் மூலம் ஐ.பி.எல்.லில் ஷாருக்கான் ஆதாயம் பெற்று இருக்க வேண்டும் அதற்காக அவர் ரூ.10 கோடி முதலீடு செய்திருக்க வேண்டும் என்று சந்தேகிக்கப்படுகிறது. 

முதலாவது ஐ.பி.எல். ஏலம் முடிந்து 1 மாதத்தில் இந்த முதலீடு செய்யப்பட்டு உள்ளது. அதாவது 2008 ஜனவரி மாதம் முதல் ஐ.பி.எல். ஏலம் நடந்தது. இதில் கொல்கத்தா அணியை ஷாருக்கான் வாங்கினார். அடுத்த மாதமே சுக்லா நிறு வனத்தில் ரூ.10 கோடி முத லீடு செய்துள்ளார். இது பல்வேறு வகை சந்தேக கேள்விகளை எழுப்பி இருக்கிறது. 

இது பற்றி முழுமையான விசாரணை நடத்தினால் ஷாருக்கானும், ராஜீவ் சுக்லாவும் வசமாக சிக்கும் வாய்ப்பு உள்ளது


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The Parable Of The Vamp

WHAT DOES TRASHING SUNANDA PUSHKAR SAY ABOUT OUR ATTITUDES TO WOMEN, ASKS SHOMA CHAUDHURY

imageAMIDST THE immense noise of the IPL controversy, away from public view, a woman has been confronted with a deeply personal crisis: she can no longer recognise herself. A massive juggernaut has rolled over her, crushed her out of shape, and moved on without a backward glance. She has been left to cope with the painful out-of-body experience of watching the mangled remains of who she used to be. Left to muse, in private bewilderment, why her image and the person she knew herself to be no longer matched.

Sunanda Pushkar, the woman in the tableau, was not hit by some unheeding truck. She was hit by the media. As Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, the doctor parents of the slain Aarushi, know only too well, this is not the first time it’s happened. In its feeding frenzy for 24 /7 excitement, the media has developed a curious way of turning fathers into murderers; women into vamps. Facts, evidence, the line between public and private — all the good, old-fashioned gears of journalism no longer have any place. Rash allegations are enough. The rear-view mirrors are gone. You can now recklessly ride over people and not look back.

image

'I’m proud of bringing up my son all by myself'

SUNANDA PUSHKAR HAS ALWAYS BEEN SELF- RELIANT. SHE HAS HELD MANY JOBS, CROSSED MANY CONTINENTS. IN THE LAST FORTNIGHT, SHE HAS WATCHED THE MEDIA MUTILATE HER RESUMÈ. NOW, IN A STIRRING INTERVIEW, SHE WRESTS BACK THE STORY OF HER TRUE SELF

Over the last two weeks then, every real and fictitious fragment of Pushkar’s life has been dragged onto airwaves and newsprint: Men she has and has not married; men she has and has not slept with; money she has and has not made; jobs she has and has not done. People have spoken with dripping scorn about her “eye-popping life”, her “insatiable ambition”, her work with “starlets and bimbos”, her “vampire-like thirst” and her “Louis Vuitton victimhood”. They have dissected her diaphanous saris and conjured clingy ones she’s never worn. The general consensus has been: She isn’t enough a girl’s girl. And for this transgression, she had to be crushed. So, overnight, Sunanda Pushkar was transformed from a living, breathing woman with a history of her own into a “proxy bimbette”.

What did Pushkar do to merit this public mauling? The reasons trotted out are that Pushkar is romantically involved with former Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor and has therefore been given disproportionate sweat equity worth Rs 70 crore in the Kochi cricket team he helped put together. One can debate the finer points of propriety about Pushkar having equity, independently or otherwise, in a project Tharoor was closely associated with. Prima facie, it appears there was absolutely no exchange of money. Nor was there any misuse of public funds. In a world of brazen corruption then, this could only count as a minor lapse in manners. The curious thing is, the uproar over the sweat equity itself seemed misplaced. With the same reckless disregard for fact, everyone has forgotten that the offending Rs 70 crore does not exist as yet. Sweat equity is risky: There are no payments upfront. If the going is good, you take the ride; if not, there’s nothing.

So, the truth is, the reasons Pushkar has been pilloried lie elsewhere. Imagine for a moment that instead of Pushkar some nephew of Tharoor had been given sweat equity. Would the media have ferreted out every last detail about his girlfriends and colour of bedsheet — imagined or real? Pushkar says the last fortnight has been akin to a medieval witch hunt. She is right. A deep and unthinking misogyny has underscored all the reporting on her. Her real crime is that she is an attractive 46-year old widow, who is bright, vivacious and hot — in the way only those women can be, who have a comfortable relationship with themselves; who understand that beauty does not preclude one from being kind; or protect one from sorrow. If the media had wanted to try the two for financial impropriety, it should have stuck to doing that. Instead, all of it has become an ugly spectacle about a society trying to decide what women are allowed and not allowed to be. Ambition, sass, and self-assured sexiness are clearly high on the list of India’s penal code for women. This is why Pushkar has been asked by “well-wishers” to stay out of view. This is why she’s in the process of being tamed for Indian public life. The story of how Sunanda Pushkar has been treated then is not the story of just one woman: it is a parable about the society we are.

There are so many versions of your life floating in the media, would you like to put the facts on record first.
I don’t really want to. My son and parents have already suffered enough on this. How many times I got married, who I dated — what does any of that have to do with the IPL?

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Sunanda Pushkar with her now deceased second husband Sujit Menon, her father and uncles in Jammu.

That’s true, but unfortunately the absence of facts has allowed everyone to maul your image. There’ve been reports that you divorced your first husband Sanjay Raina because you fell in love with his friend Sujit Menon. Also that Sujit committed suicide because he was in financial trouble. Even if all this were true, it still wouldn’t make you a bad person, but the key thing is to establish how much is truth, how much fiction.
(Sighs) You are right. It’s probably important to set the record straight. My first marriage was a very dark period in my life. Everyone’s saying Sanjay Raina divorced me, but that’s not true, I divorced him. It was a very painful relationship but I don’t want to go into that. It’s over; he’s moved on, I’ve moved on. I was 19 when I met him and very innocent. My dad was in the army and I had a very protected childhood. I was always sorry for the underdog. My family and friends used to teasingly call me Mother Teresa. I was helping flood victims in Ambala in grade six. When I was in Jesus and Mary Convent, I used to work with abandoned and physically challenged children at an ashram. There was a blind and spastic kid there who was particularly attached to me. No one wanted him because he wasn’t very nice looking, but I used to bathe and feed him. Curiously, many people spoke badly of Sanjay, saying he was strange. Maybe in the beginning that is what drew me more to him.

But the marriage was a big mistake. I was totally unprepared for the worst. ‘The media said, why should the Kochi team pick me? As a woman am I not good enough?’ Soon after we got engaged I told my father I wanted to break it off. I had realised Sanjay and I were very mismatched but my father wouldn’t listen. For Kashmiri Pandits, if you got engaged, you had to marry; we’d never had a broken marriage in the family. Mine fell apart within days. I had a really tough time getting a divorce in Delhi. It was a very lonely time. My parents didn’t want me to divorce even though they knew what was going on. Looking back, I understand them now, but I felt very abandoned then.

The truth is Sujit rescued me. He gave me the strength, as a friend, to quit a very painful marriage. But he was dating another woman; I was just a friend. I got my divorce in 1988 and went off to Dubai in 1989. I married Sujit in 1991; my son Shivy was born in November 1992. If I had left Sanjay over Sujit, why would I have waited that long to marry him?

What about Sujit’s death? That has been turned into something very mysterious as well.

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With baby Shiv at home in Dubai

Yes, my son has had a really rough time dealing with those reports. But my husband died in an accident in Karol Bagh in March 1997. I can show you the death certificate. I had a really harrowing time finding the body and had to go from morgue to morgue searching for it. Again, it was a very dark time. Sujit was a financial consultant and he had run into some financial trouble. I disagreed with many of his business decisions at the time and after his death I got several threatening calls from his creditors. But that was less important to me than the fact that after his death, Shivy suddenly stopped talking. It was very strange, he probably got scared. He was barely four. There was so much to do — papers and fresh visas to be sorted, debts to pay. So I left him with my sister-in-law and, later, my parents for a few months. I keep asking them, someone tell me what happened to him because when I went to pick up my son, he had stopped talking. I took him to Dubai but in those days there was no concept of speech therapy there. I began to look for the best affordable health care and that’s how I hit upon Canada. I moved there to help my son. I had been doing pretty well at work, but I didn’t have that much money to spare. I was supporting my parents, supporting my brother through engineering college, trying to pay off Sujit’s debts.

‘The media said, why should the Kochi team pick me? As a woman am I not good enough?’

Why did you need to support your parents financially? Everyone says your family was very wealthy.
Yes, we were wealthy till the trouble began in Kashmir in 1989. We had orchards and a lot of land. But after ‘89, my family suffered like everyone else. Luckily, they were wealthy enough that they didn’t have to go live in a tent. But I did help them financially to find their feet again. They couldn’t afford to put their son through college — you know you have those donations and capitation fees. I did all that.

Part of the muck being thrown at you for having sweat equity in the Kochi team is that you don’t have professional standing that merits it, so you must be a front for Shashi Tharoor. How do you respond to this?
I cannot tell you how insulted I feel. I’ve been fiercely independent and self-reliant all my life. And I’ve always been proud that I have made it alone — on my own terms — in a man’s world. And here, in one minute, without bothering to find out any facts the media just turned me into a slut, into some kind of brainless eye candy! I don’t know why people find it so hard to understand this — I really don’t care about money in that grasping way. Yet, please don’t misunderstand me. I enjoy making money, I think there’s absolutely nothing wrong with a woman being ambitious. I like cars and watches but I don’t need any man to get anything for me. My kick is to buy it myself. I like to earn my own keep. I’d be very happy to set up home with a man I loved, but I would not marry a man just because he can buy me diamonds. I’m not judgmental about women who do that, I’m just saying I wouldn’t. So when people say I got into all this as a front for Shashi, chasing influence and money, it savages my soul. What else can I say?

The media has said, for Rs 70 crore, the Kochi team could have hired any foreign marketing firm, why would they pick me? Forget that no one in India seems to have understood the basics about sweat equity — there is simply no 70 crore on the table, in fact not one paisa has changed hands so far, and there will be no profits for years to pay anybody — but what is this attitude? As a woman I am not good enough? Some foreigner can do better than an Indian? And we call ourselves a superpower? Is this 21st century India or the British Raj?

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With her father at her wedding to Sujit at the Shiva temple in Kochi,Kerala

Could you then run us through your career graph a bit ?
When I came to Dubai for the first time I worked in tourism. I had ideas about dhow cruises and dune dinners — much before Emirates Holidays even existed. Our accounts included Philippines airlines, Romanian airlines, Brazilian airlines — so I had lots of corporate clients. After I married Sujit, I got into events. Someone reported that all my shows made losses. That hurt. Sujit and I did only one event together which went badly — a Mammooty show which people have been writing all kinds of nonsense about. But apart from that I don’t think I did any events that made a loss.

I started my own company called Expressions with four or five people. We began to do many model shows for product launches. Everyone does it now, but it was a complete trendsetter then. I did 13 shows with Hemant Trivedi, shows with Rhea Pillai, Vikram Phadnis, Aishwarya Rai. When the Gulf War started, we did big fund raisers for the ‘We love Kuwait’ campaign.

After a while I got a great offer from an ad agency called Bozell Prime. I handled many big campaigns for them — Wella, Hersheys, Chrysler cars. I did big multi-million dollar events for Modern Pharmaceuticals. That was the most beautiful time of my life. But after Sujit died, I gave up Bozell for Shivy. I didn’t want a baby-sitter. He had gone into a complete shell and I was frightened for him and wanted to be there for him. So that last year in Dubai before I went to Canada, I worked with Ravissant.

‘Calling me a beautician from Dubai is not derogatory. It’s just not true’

In Canada, I had to start from scratch. I’d literally gone there with a suitcase and my child. But you know, Shoma, I have never taken my resume and looked for a job.I have always felt I can carve a niche for myself on my own terms. I’ve always been an entrepreneur that way. So for a while, I did many odds and ends. Then some friends in New York — two doctors who are still among my closest family friends — suggested I get into the IT sector which had just begun to boom. Everyone was looking for computer engineers from India, so we tied up with companies like Compaq and head-hunted in India for them.

After a while a friend in San Francisco alerted me that a company called Valley Resources wanted a partner. I told them I had no money to invest but they still wanted me. So, talk about sweat equity — (laughs) — that was my first sweat equity! It was a lot of fun and we did mighty well and made good money. I put Shivy in a private school; I bought ourselves a house; I got a BMW. And I did all this from the basement of my house. And through all that, I never used babysitters. I’m proud of bringing up my son by myself. Many of my friends across the world who knew me at that time are really disheartened and outraged by the way I am being portrayed in the media.

The press has been saying you are a beautician, a spa-owner, a mystery woman from Dubai — where did they get all that from?
Can you imagine! I have no idea where they got it! These reports were meant to deride me. I don’t even feel there’s anything derogatory about being a beautician — it’s just that it’s completely not true! I ran a small jewellery shop for a while, but while they were trying to ferret fictitious details about my life, they didn’t even come across that!

You know, all through my life, at different phases, things have fallen apart and each time I have just picked myself up and put the pieces back. I am a very positive person: I always say, this too shall pass. I am a great believer in Shiva and the idea of karma, so I never question and complain and ask why is this happening to me. I always tell myself that things happen to you so that you can learn from it. But this has been the biggest test I have ever faced.

We’ll come back to the way the press has reported on you and what impact that’s had on you; and what it says about attitudes to women in India. But, first, could you finish telling us about your professional life.
Just as our IT business was booming, 9/11 happened. This hit us bad and we had to shut shop. There was four months of anxiety and no work. We were cleaned out financially. That’s when I got into Emotional Intelligence. It was the latest thing in Canada those days. I did a course and joined a company called Noble House International. We started something called Human Potential Reengineering. [sighs] We did lots of programmes for banks like Royal Bank of Canada and ABN Amro in Miami, Amsterdam and Geneva. It was fun but I was not earning enough.

‘The film Corporate disgusted me. Must a woman sleep around to get business?’

Then in 2004, Best Homes offered to send me to Dubai to set up their operations there in real estate. If I think about it, real estate runs in my blood. More than buying and selling, I love developing properties. I love the blueprint stage, the planning and the zoning. So I came back to Dubai in August 2004 as general manager of Best Homes and worked on a big project with them.

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Pushkar celebrating Diwali with her son and friends in Toronto,Canada in 2003.

Dubai had changed completely. My friends had all become rich and powerful; there was a completely different buzz. But Shivy was not very happy and I was just planning to go back to Canada and start again, when I was offered a job by Mohamad-bin-Ghalib of Tecom to work on an International Media Production Free Zone. This was one of the most exciting projects I’ve ever worked on. We had to plan publishing zones, convention centres, hotels, schools and hospitals over 44 million square feet of land. Then I was offered a position that the company usually only gives to locals — I had to sell land to Gulf nationals. Everyone thought I’d fail because I didn’t know Arabic. But as one of my bosses said about me, “She can sell sand to the Arabs and ice to the Eskimos!”

Were you a sales manager there? Some press reports have been saying that you actually live — to use their words — in a ‘low-class ghetto’ in Dubai and that Shashi was a leg up for you socially and financially. How would you speak of yourself? As middle- class, well-to-do, very well-to-do?
I think I’m pretty well to do. I drive a Range Rover. My son has a driver and a Ford. I live in a decent apartment because I don’t want to live in a villa and have the headache of a garden and stuff because there’s just the two of us. I have a cook and a domestic help. I own two 3-bedroom apartments in Jumeirah Palm. I also own a beachside apartment in Jumeirah Beach Residence, and I have two apartments in Executive Towers. I only live in this rented apartment because it’s close to Shivy’s school and his friends live around here. I also have my house in Canada and some land in Jammu. So I’m pretty alright, I think. I’m pretty alright. [laughs]

That’s an understatement.
Yeah, I guess, I’m okay. The part I feel really good about is that I’ve done it all on my own. The only thing they’ve got right about me is that I was a sales manager at Tecom. What they don’t get is that this suited my entrepreneurial spirit just fine because it allowed me to get a commission over my salary.

Of all the kite flying about you in the media then, what aspect has really upset you the most? Oh God, I can so tell you that! It’s been like a medieval witch hunt! It’s been so misogynistic. The bizarre part is, I think it’s not even just to do with my being a woman, it’s to do with my being an attractive woman. That’s what makes it even more disgusting. That’s what really makes me sick to the core of my being. That, to so many people in this society, if you are attractive you are immediately deemed to be a loose woman.

‘Why are they accusing me of being a proxy for Shashi? Can’t I make my own money?’

What have they not said about me! I am supposed to be married to some automobile businessman in Delhi; my second husband is supposed to have committed suicide; I am supposed to have slept with god knows how many men, and I am supposed to be a tart.

I have always prioritised Shivy because he is the most important thing in my life and I have always been proud that I had made it alone, on my own terms, in a man’s world, and in one minute, without checking on any facts, they have just reduced me to a slut. Just because I am an attractive working woman in a man’s world.

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Sunanda Pushkar with the UAE's Minister for Foreign Trade Sheikh Lubna Al Qasimi

All my women friends in Dubai — women from all across the world, Serbia, England, America, Canada — are so upset. They are furious! As one of them said, we thought India is going to be a world power, but how can they be when their attitudes to women are so warped!

I have realised that women have made some inroads into politics in India, but in business? God forbid, you want to be feminine and wear nice saris or dresses into a boardroom — that’s totally not allowed. I saw a Hindi film called Corporate — it disgusted me. A woman must sleep around with someone to get business, she can’t get it otherwise? She must utilise her body and only then her brain will function. Suddenly — boom! — her brain is functioning because men are sleeping with her!

I have a wonderful, grown-up son — a son who says that whenever he thinks of duty and integrity and honesty, he thinks of his mother. I want to ask all these people in the media, if I was sleeping around, when did I have the time to bring up my child?

Do you know that there was a report that said I went to Jitin Prasada’s wedding wearing a bright-red, clingy, seethrough sari with a low cut blouse and some socialite is supposed to have s******ed that this was just not the “Congress code”. I wasn’t even in Delhi for Jitin’s wedding. I went to his reception huddled inside a black sari and shawl because I was so cold. How much can the media lie?

There’s another thing I want to clarify. They are saying I have given up my shares to save Shashi Tharoor. Now, I’m not even supposed to have that much agency of my own! I DID NOT give it up for Shashi Tharoor. I gave it up for exactly the reason that I said in my statement: I have no enthusiasm to work on this anymore. You tell me, Shoma, after all that has happened would you have the enthusiasm to work with the IPL? I might still do stuff for them, as I said, because I love Kerala — but how can they turn around and crucify me for something I am giving up in disgust? One BJP man said that the fact I am giving it up is further proof of my corruption. I mean how much more perverse and bewildering can things get? And now I have someone impersonating me on Facebook when I don’t have either a Twitter or Facebook account!

One of my bosses said about me, ‘She can sell sand to the Arabs and ice to the Eskimos!’

I have to say the conjecturing about you has been shameful.
(Starting to cry) I have always thought of myself as a kind, proud, honest and ethical person. I can’t recognise what they have turned me into publicly. In my family, everyone calls me ‘Didi’ — even my father — because I am the person everyone turns to for help. I was always the ‘boy’ in the family. I never even had a doll as a child. So even now, though this is my worst fall, I am not asking why all of this has happened to me. I am sure there is a larger lesson to be learnt and I am sure I am going to grow from this. And mark my words, I will grow, I will come out of this a bigger and better person. I can feel it in my bones. I’m sure I’ve made mistakes in my life; I’m just a regular human being. But I keep telling myself, I must be a good person because, god knows, I have brought up a good child.

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Shashi Tharoor and Sunanda Pushkar at a New Delhi book launch in March. GETTY IMAGES

Let’s talk about Shashi Tharoor and the IPL. How did you meet? How did the IPL thing come about? What is the sweat equity everyone is in a tizzy about?
I don’t really want to talk about Shashi because everything I say will have some repercussion for him. He is a public figure, I am not. But I met him about two years ago through a friend called Sunny Varkey, and we got along immediately. We are certainly close now, but that closeness only developed less than five months ago. I am very proud to know him because, most of all, he is a good and honest man.

As far as the IPL goes, again the media has twisted my words. I have known Karim and Ali Murani since 1998, since we were all in the events business. Over the years they have become close friends. When they took on KKR, I was generally throwing ideas at them about how they should market and package the team. Ali liked my ideas enough to ask me to come down to Bombay to discuss working for them — the Muranis, not KKR itself. The conversation was serious enough for me to fly down to Mumbai, but Shivy was still in school so we all just let it slide. But that’s how I first got to know about the IPL.

As far as the sweat equity for the Kochi team goes, I am genuinely bewildered by the allegations of corruption. I did agree to offer my skills as a marketing consultant. I have a knack for it. I also helped them raise a lot of money. But there’s been absolutely no exchange of money between us. I don’t even have the shares. It’s more like a promissory note with absolutely no guarantee that the shares will amount to anything. People are calling me and saying why did you give up the Rs 70 crore? What Rs 70 crore? It’s not there! I haven’t earned it as yet, there’s no surety I ever will. People have been throwing up fantastical numbers — what no one seems to understand is that all of it is notional. I am told Mumbai Indians made a loss of 40 odd crore last season, so there’s a huge risk involved. There’s no money upfront.

And again, why are they accusing me of being a proxy for Shashi? That’s so insulting. Can’t I make my own money? He has not been corrupt for so many years — for which I am proud to be his friend — why would he be corrupt now? Just look around you in India and see the corruption — in government, in industry, in every crevice of public life and they call this corruption! Indians couldn’t handle a man who is not corrupt so you tainted him and literally made him look corrupt so that he had to leave government and not embarrass his party! [laughs]

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CALM BEFORE THE STORM Shashi Tharoor and Sunanda Pushkar

My faith in India is so shaken. Shashi and others keep telling me not to say this, but I don’t know Shoma — why shouldn’t I say it? I am shocked at the way events unfurled. It had no basis in truth. There was no intention of even getting to the truth. Why has the media taken this beyond the realm of reality. I can’t understand it!

There were three people in politics that really created hope for millions of Indians across the world that even clean men can join politics — Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi and Shashi Tharoor. I know that when Shashi entered politics, many Indians felt, oh, if he can, even we can. Otherwise Indian politics was always thought of as such a dirty game. But Shashi has been hounded out for now — ironically — for not being dirty enough. In just the cricket scene I know how much corruption is floating about, but the big powerful men will get away, and Shashi has been made a sacrifice. Was Shashi given a fair hearing? The media made sure he couldn’t get one. As I said, it was a medieval witch hunt in every way.




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IPL-Manohar-Srinivasan Throws Rajasthan & Punjab from IPL
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IPL in disarray as major teams are banned for ‘irregularities’

 By Andrew Buncombe in Delhi

Monday, 11 October 2010

   The world’s largest and most successful cricket tournament, the Indian Premier League, was in turmoil last night after officials expelled two of its most successful teams amid allegations of corruption. At an emergency meeting in Mumbai, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced that the licences of the Rajasthan Royals, captained by Shane Warne, and the Kings XI Punjab had been terminated immediately. Both teams had been mentioned in connection with a flurry of bribery allegations focusing on the IPL’s suspended commissioner, Lalit Modi.”It was unanimously decided that franchise agreements with Punjab and Rajasthan be terminated forthwith based on legal opinions obtained by the BCCI in the matters,” said a BCCI statement. It said it had also issued notice to a third team, Kochi, demanding that it resolve its “disputes and form a joint venture company which will hold the IPL franchise rights”.The move by the sport’s governing body in India threw fans and officials into dismay. “Just woke up to news that Royals and Kings out of IPL 4, don’t know anything yet, flying back to Australia… it’s a big shock for Royals, will hopefully get to the bottom of it,” Warne said in a series of messages on Twitter. “The Royals gave young unknown Indian players a chance and I as captain backed them and our coaching staff supported them. We were a team… What now for the youngsters? I hope the BCCI come to their senses.”The actress and television personality Shilpa Shetty, who has a stake in the Royals, added: “This is for all those who want my reaction. Honestly too shocked to react, just disheartened… cause it’s more than just a team for us!”The BCCI’s decision came after it decided in July to suspend Modi and set up a committee to investigate bribery allegations concerning the awarding of bids for franchises in 2008. Yet the BCCI president, Shashank Manohar, told reporters that the elimination of the two teams was not linked to Modi. “The decision to terminate the contract of Punjab and Rajasthan franchises was taken purely based on legal opinion we received and the breaches committed by these franchises,” he said, adding that those offences included unsanctioned changes in shareholding patterns. As a result of such changes, there was a difference between the names of the bidders and those who eventually entered the agreements.It is understood that those irregularities came to light when the investigations into the allegation surrounding Modi were carried out. Modi has always denied any wrongdoing and has said his running of the highly lucrative tournament was always transparent. He wrote on Twitter: “Instead of concentrating on building IPL… they have chosen a path of vengeance and that will only hurt the game.”The actions of the BCCI has left the fourth series of the IPL in serious doubt. The tournament had been expected to see two new teams, from Kochi and Pune, joining. As it is, it is unclear whether replacements will be sought for the Royals and Kings or what will happen to those players already contracted to play for them. The Royals have already said it is considering a legal challenge to the BCCI’s decision. Raj Kundra, one of the co-owners of the Rajasthan club, said: “I don’t see IPL 4 happening if the BCCI treats other teams like this. The termination of the contract by BCCI is shocking. We are seriously thinking of a legal action. We need to see a copy of the termination notice and study it.”Captained by Warne, the Royals won the IPL’s inaugural series in 2008. Meanwhile, the Kings, who had been bought for $76m (£47m) in 2008, included Sri Lankans Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, Australian pace bowler Brett Lee as well as home-grown batsman, India’s Yuvraj Singh. The expelled teamsRajasthan RoyalsThe Jaipur-based side won the inaugural Indian Premier League in 2008, beating Chennai Super Kings by three wickets in the Mumbai final. The side were captained by former Australian bowler Shane Warne, who was joined by Shane Watson, England’s Dimitri Mascarenhas, South African Graeme Smith and Pakistan’s Kamran Akmal and Younis Khan. Shaun Tait and Damien Martyn joined in the following seasons.  Kings XI Punjab They began their first campaign slowly before recovering to reach the semi-finals. Among their roster were Sri Lankans Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, Australians Brett Lee, Shaun Marsh and Simon Katich and West Indian Ramnaresh Sarwan, along with home favourite Sreesanth. England’s Ravi Bopara joined for 2009 before Sangakkara replaced Yuvraj Singh as captain for this year’s competition – when they finished bottom

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