Gujarat cricket body distances from IPL controversy

GANDHINAGAR - Amit Shah, vice chairperson of the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA), chose to distance the state’s premier cricket body and Chief Minister Narendra Modi from the raging Lalit Modi-Shashi Tharoor controversy over the Kochi franchise for the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Shah, the state’s home minister, said here Thursday that the bidding for the IPL team had been a transparent process and the highest bidder had got the team. “In this backdrop, the allegations of Lalit Modi assisting the GCA and businessman Gautam Adani with the bidding process does not hold water.”

Shah also denied the statement of IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi that some members of the Rendezvous consortium, owners of the Kochi franchisee, had met Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for transferring the team from Kochi to Ahmedabad.

“Some promoters had met the chief minister but that meeting does not decide the bidding process since the highest bid bags the team,” he added.

The GCA termed the allegations seeking to embroil Chief Minister Modi in the controversy as “baseless” and made “for political reasons”.

It may be mentioned here that former deputy chief minister of Gujarat and former president of GCA Narhari Amin had alleged that Lalit Modi had held a closed door meeting with Gautam Adani and Amit Shah in Ahmedabad in March and had sought to advise them on the bidding process.