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Lalit Modi reveals blueprint of breakaway cricket body to rival ICC

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Lalit Modi

London: He is living in exile and facing arrest but that has not stopped sacked IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi from preparing the blueprint for a breakaway governing body for cricket to rival the ICC — a plan which he claims is the future “world order”.

Modi, who faces allegations of financial impropriety and is currently based here, said the new body would be affiliated with the Olympic movement and oversee Test and T20 competitions, while scrapping the ODI format altogether.

“We’re talking about another cricketing system. There is a blueprint out there, it’s got my rubber stamp on it,” Modi told the ‘Australian Broadcasting Corporation’.

“I have been involved in it. I say it for the first time, I’ve been involved in putting that blue print together. We could take on the existing establishment, no problem. It requires a few billion dollars, I don’t think it would be a problem to get that … into action,” he said.

“The plan that I have put together is a very detailed plan, it’s not a plan that’s come off the cuff, it’s been taking years and years and years in the making,” he added.

Modi, a pariah in cricket after he was sacked in 2010 as commissioner of the very league he conceptualized, has an arrest warrant against him based on the Enforcement Directorate’s allegations.

Modi, on his part, has vehemently denied all charges against him. The controversial administrator said his plan would only fail if the ICC, currently headed by his nemesis and former BCCI President N Srinivasan, carries out reforms.

“I hope that print [the blueprint] doesn’t take off. But if the people can’t continue, then that print will take off and that blueprint will become the world order tomorrow. I guarantee you that, sitting here today,” he said.

Modi said his blueprint comprises a calendar of events to rival the ICC’s schedule in Tests and T20 games. “The plan conceives only of Test cricket and T20; it doesn’t take into account one-day at all. I think that is completely redundant in today’s day and age. I think it should just be T20 and Test matches that should be played,” he said.

Modi said the ICC should look to get the International Olympic Committee’s affiliation. “I have been proposing that. The ICC will never agree to that; never means never. It is a plan that one day, if I ever implement it, will re-write history in sport. “IPL has re-written history in sport in the way it’s marketed. I think this will re-write history once again.”

(PTI)

Sushma’s family received money from Lalit Modi: Rahul Gandhi

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Rahul-Gandhi

New Delhi: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s family has “received money” from former IPL chairman Lalit Modi.

“Whenever there is a robbery or stealing, a financial transfer takes place. There has been a financial transfer here as well. Sushma’s family has received money from Lalit Modi. She should tell the country exactly how much money Lalit Modi has paid her family to keep himself out of jail,” Gandhi said outside parliament.

Sushma Swaraj on Thursday told the Lok Sabha that she did not recommend to the British government to give travel documents to former IPL chief Lalit Modi. She also said the allegations against her of recommending travel documents for Lalit Modi were “wrong and baseless”.

The minister had also questioned Congress president Sonia Gandhi what she would have done had she been in her place.

Rahul Gandhi said: “As Sonia Gandhi’s son I can say she would not have done the same thing. Whenever there is some stealing happens, secrecy is maintained by the thief. In this case, Sushma has maintained full secrecy. Nobody in the ministry other than Sushma Swaraj knew about this decision. After this decision, government of the United Kingdom changed their position.”

Sushma expert at theatrical politics: Sonia Gandhi

Congress president Sonia Gandhi said on Friday that External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is an expert at “indulging in theatrical politics”.

Sushma Swaraj had said on Thursday that she was ready to face the consequences if helping former IPL chairman Lalit Modi’s wife on humanitarian grounds was a crime.

“She (Sushma Swaraj) is an expert at indulging in theatrical politics,” said Sonia Gandhi before she joined her party colleagues protesting the suspension of 25 Congress MPs by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.

(IANS)

Non-bailable warrant issued against Lalit Modi

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Lalit Modi

Mumbai: A special court here issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against former IPL chairman Lalit Modi on Wednesday for his alleged involvement in a money-laundering case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Last month, the ED has moved the Special court seeking issue of arrest warrant for investigating the case against the business tycoon and cricket manager.

Despite repeated attempts, Modi’s lawyers did not respond to calls and SMSes on his reaction in the matter.

When the matter came up before the court on Tuesday, Special Judge P.R. Bhavake wanted to know from the ED how an arrest warrant could be issued without a charge-sheet being filed in the case and whether the court had powers to do so.

ED counsel H. Venegaonkar submitted that under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the cases follow a different format compared to the regular criminal cases.

Besides, the lawyer contended that since the case was in the pre-investigation stage, the Special Court has the jurisdiction to issue the NBW.

With the issue of the NBW, Modi faces arrest upon return to India and also the possibility of a Red Corner Notice if he fails to turn up.

The ED approached the Special Court after Modi – currently residing in London since 2010 – failed to respond to its summons last month.

The ED had filed the case against Modi in 2012 under the PMLA in connection with a mega-deal for IPL telecast rights.

The ED action followed a case lodged by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in Chennai against Modi and others pertaining to the same matter.

(IANS)

No discussion until Sushma steps down: Rahul Gandhi

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rahul gandhi

New Delhi: Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his “silence” on the Lalit Modi controversy, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said his party was against discussion until External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj steps down.

Claiming that Modi’s credibility is on the decline, Rahul said the Prime Minister should listen to the voices of the people of the coutry who are demanding an answer from him over controversies confronting the government.

“The Prime Minister had assured the country that he will not tolerate corruption. His words should carry weight. But he speaks in air, he speaks whatever comes to his mind, his credibility is slowly declining.

“We asked the PM what he thinks about Lalit Modi. We got no answer. We got no answer on the Vyapam scam, no answer on Chhattisgarh and no answer on Sushma,” he told reporters outside Parliament.

Rahul’s comments come against the backdrop of the stalemate persisting in both the Houses of Parliament with Congress-led opposition aggressively pressing for ouster of Sushma and Chief Ministers of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh Chouhan over the Lalit Modi controversy and Vyapam scam, which the government rejected.

He made it clear that there would be no discussion on the Lalit Modi controversy unless Sushma quits office.

“What we have said is that (there will be) no discussion without resignation. Sushma has done a criminal act. He (Lalit Modi) is a ‘fugitive’. You have signed it (the recommendation for grant of travel document). The High Commission does not know about it. The Indian government too in unaware of that,” he said and alleged that there were business links between the families of Lalit Modi and Sushma Swaraj.

(PTI)

Bribery allegations: BCCI gives 'clean chit' to three players

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BCCI

New Delhi: The BCCI today gave a clean chit to three international cricketers, who were accused of accepting bribes from a Mumbai-based businessman by ousted IPL commissioner Lalit Modi.

BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said “there is nothing in it” when asked about the ICC acknowledging a letter from Modi in June 2013, claiming that two cricketers from India and a West Indian were paid in cash and kind to the tune of Rs 20 crore each.

“Lalit Modi had written a letter to ICC, so they informed BCCI about the letter. The three players are international players and fall under the international jurisdiction. There is no information on these players from ICC so far, so it is in a way a clean chit for them to play,” said Thakur here today.

“The ICC has sent a press release, they had informed BCCI about the three players. When somebody plays international cricket, the ICC is responsible. Only the ICC can answer as per their investigations. It falls under ICC’s purview. They have said that they are enquiring, so only they can answer on this. If there was anything, they could have reported back to us,” he said further on the controversial issue.

The acknowledgement of Modi’s letter came only yesterday from the ICC. “The ICC confirms that Mr Modi’s confidential e-mail, which was received in June 2013, and which has recently been published on Twitter, was provided to the ACSU at that time. The ACSU handled that information in accordance with its standard operating procedures, which included sharing it with the BCCI’s anti-corruption unit,” the ICC had said.

On IPL, Thakur was asked about the identity of the player who was approached for spot-fixing ahead of the 2015 edition.

“We don’t disclose the name of the players. If a player has been approached, we report it to the anti-corruption unit. We have to look at the detailed report. Once the final report comes in then we will take action. As of now, enquiry is still not over,” Thakur added.

(PTI)

Modi praises Modi: Ex-IPL chief seeks to mend fences with PM

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narendra-modi-lalit-modi

New Delhi: The man who is instrumental in inviting the wrath of the opposition on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its leader Narendra Modi now appears to be seeking to make amends, after the party said it would seek an interpol ‘red corner notice’ against him.

Lalit Modi, sitting in London, tweeted on Saturday that Prime Minister Modi was a “most savy (sic) man”.

The former chief of the Indian Premier League, embroiled in several controversies and whose passport was revoked by the Indian government, said that “when he (Modi) bats, he will hit the ball out of the park”.

Lalit Modi, who has been putting out reams of information through tweets and other media, was apparently helped by External Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje, at a time when he was being sought by the Enforcement Directorate during the previous United Progressive Alliance regime.

Modi’s tweet praising the prime minister came on the day Raje was in Delhi, for an official meeting, but was planning to meet the BJP brass to give her side of the story. According to sources, she was expected to meet the prime minister, but latest reports said that the meeting had not come through.

Raje has accepted that she had signed a document supporting the application of Lalit Modi for a residence visa in Britain. The opposition parties say that at best this points to an impropriety by a leading BJP leader when the IPL chief was wanted by the authorities in India.

Lalit Modi, who has been staying in London for several years, is sought by the Enforcement Directorate for alleged financial irregularities when he was the IPL head.

He has been tweeting regularly, often implying nothing more than a meeting with political figures.

On Friday he said that he and senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal had chatted over three days during a wedding in Istanbul.

Earlier the same day, Modi tweeted that he “bumped into” Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s daughter Priyanka and her husband Robert Vadra in a London restaurant last year.

He did not imply any wrongdoing or impropriety on their part. But the BJP, under attack for “supporting a fugitive”, immediately reacted asking the Congress president to explain what the meeting between the three was all about.

(Agencies)

Helping Lalit Modi is legally, morally wrong: BJP MP R K Singh

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BJP MP R K Singh

New Delhi: BJP MP R K Singh today struck a discordant note over party leaders Sushma Swaraj and Vasundhara Raje extending help to former IPL boss Lalit Modi, saying “any help to a fugitive is legally and morally wrong”.

He urged the government to take all measures to bring him back to India to face the law.

Singh’s strong comments are the first public criticism by a ruling party MP against the help extended to Lalit Modi by External Affairs Minister Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Raje, an issue which has snowballed into a major political storm for the Narendra Modi government even though BJP has defended both the leaders.

“If anybody helps a ‘bhagoda’ (fugitive), it is wrong. This is wrong legally as well as morally. If anybody meets a fugitive, it is absolutely wrong. Whosoever has helped him, I think it is completely wrong,” Singh, a former Home Secretary, told reporters here.

He said Lalit Modi had been evading judicial warrants and summons and he was clearly a fugitive and any help given to him or any meeting with him was wrong.

He did not name either Swaraj or Raje.

Asked if Lalit Modi was being “saved”, Singh said the departments concerned should be doing their job.

“I have given my view,” he said when asked about BJP’s defence of both the leaders and added that he would not like to name individuals.

Singh said the government should appeal against the Delhi High Court order which restored the former IPL commissioner’s passport and demanded that his property should be attached, if needed.

“All measures should be taken to bring him back to India so that he faces the law,” he said.

Swaraj and Raje have been facing flak for helping Lalit Modi in procuring travel documents in the UK, a country which he has made his home to avoid legal processes in India.

Modi, 49, travelled to London in 2010 after the Indian Premier League (IPL) became embroiled in allegations of match-fixing and illegal betting.

(PTI)

Lalitgate: Cong questions PM's silence, says he too is liable

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modi

New Delhi: Congress today attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his “silence” on the Lalitgate, saying he should come out of his ‘meditation’ and answer the nation as he too is “liable”.

“It is ordinance raj. All mantris have become tantris. One minister, what he or she eats, drinks, where they go. The Prime Minister knows everything. But he is unaware when External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was talking to UK authorities on Lalit Modi’s travel documents.

“That means, there was consent of the Prime Minister (for granting travel documents to Lalit Modi)…he is liable. Prime Minister Modi should come out of political Vipassana, and keep truth before the nation,” Congress spokesman Tom Vadakkan told reporters.

Asked about reports of scam-tainted former IPL chief Lalit Modi hosting Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor and Rajiv Shukla too, Vadakkan said they did not hold any official post unlike Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and hence, there was no quid pro quo.

According to media reports, ex-IPL chief had hosted Tharoor, Shukla and Raje at a Mumbai hotel in 2010. Raje was Opposition Leader in Rajasthan Assembly then.

“Now it has come to fore that the then Leader of Opposition in Rajasthan, who is the Chief Minister now, her bills were paid by IPL. Those who are against us will say Tharoor was there, Shukla was there, (NCP chief Sharad) Pawar was there, but they were not Leader of Opposition. In Raje’s case, it is proved there was quid pro quo,” he claimed.

On reports claiming that Raje’s son Dushyant had business links with the former IPL chief, Vadakkan said the matter needs to be investigated.

“It is very difficult to say which Modi has what relations with whom. If the relations are with Chhota (Lalit) Modi, then in whose protection Chhota Modi is, who is giving him transit passport, these are all matters of investigation. These linkages involving Bada Modi, Chhota Modi can be established only then,” he said.

(PTI)

Lalit Modi row: Congress asks Vasundhra Raje to quit along with Sushma Swaraj

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Vasundhra Raje

New Delhi: With the latest revelations in Modigate drawing Vasundhra Raje into the controversy, Congress today demanded that Rajasthan Chief Minister also resign along with External Affair Minister Sushma Swaraj.

Swaraj should step down and Raje should also resign for “helping Lalit Modi, an economic offender and fugitive,” spokesperson Shobha Ojha told reporters.

Ojha also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying his silence in the matter so far showed that “there is a mute support by the PM to these leaders”.

Besides, she said the party wanted a Supreme Court monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT) to go into the Modigate.

She dismissed as laughable BJP’s charge that Congress was targeting women leaders of BJP.

“Since they want to hide their crimes, they are raising the gender issue which is condemnable and laughable,” she said.

Taking a dig at Modi government, she said that Modigate showed “achche din” for economic offenders like Latit Modi with the entire government coming to his rescue.

Raje and Swaraj stand “exposed for helping Lalit Modi”, she alleged.

(PTI)

Sushma Swaraj reacts angrily on Twitter; Chidambaram demands release of letters to UK

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Sushma Swaraj

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday reacted angrily to a tweet suggesting she took favours to get her daughter a seat in a medical college through the northeast quota.

“My daughter is a barrister and Oxford graduate. What you say is absolutely false,” she replied to the tweet.

The twitter handle ‘Soch @pakoed’ had insinuated that “Sushma is no stranger to taking and giving favours! Her daughter studied through NorthEast quota in medical college.”

Twitterati immediately reacted, wondering at Sushma’s impulsive response to a stray tweet. The handle @pakoed was deleted, though its tweet was retweeted by others.

Sushma’s twitter supporters urged her not to be hassled by a “dog that barks” and keep up her good work.

On Monday too, Sushma appears to have lost her cool, targeting a senior journalist of a news channel that was reporting on the Lalit Modi episode. “Look who is preaching propriety – of all the persons Navika Kumar!” she posted.

Sushma’s daughter Bansuri is a lawyer, who is reported to have appeared in passport cancellation matters relating to former Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi before the court.

The Congress has pointed this out in its accusations against the minister, citing “conflict of interest”.

The senior minister is facing flak for having helped Lalit Modi procure documents to travel to Portugal in 2014. Lalit Modi, who is wanted by the Enforcement Directorate for alleged financial impropriety in the money-spinning IPL, stays in London.

Her husband Swaraj Kaushal was governor of Mizoram from 1990 to 1993 and is an expert on the northeast.

(IANS)

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