Lalit Modi defiant amid mounting pressure to quit (Roundup)

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI - Even as the top brass of the Indian cricket board huddled together to chart out their strategy for Monday’s governing council meeting of the Indian Premier League (IPL), a defiant IPL chairman Lalit Modi said Saturday he will not quit.

Hectic discussions were on in Mumbai right through the day, with messengers and messages running to and fro to find an amicable solution to the crisis triggered off in the wake of Kochi winning the bid for one of the two new franchisees at the auction March 21.

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief Shashank Manohar was closeted with BCCI secretary N. Srinivasan, IPL vice chairman Niranjan Shah and Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty on the strategy to be adopted at Monday’s council meeting.

Most of the other council members are expected to reach Mumbai either Saturday night or Sunday morning.

Manohar is no mood to give the extra five days time Modi has sought from the board to prepare his case. Even his predecessor and union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar was unable to presuade him to relent.

Modi finally broke his silence over the matter saying he will not quit despite people “pressurising me to resign.”

Modi, in the eye of a storm following his comments on the Kochi franchise which resulted in the resignation of junior foreign minister Shashi Tharoor, said he is not a quitter and that the truth will soon appear.

“People pressurising me to resign — I can tell you, (it) will not happen. Let them remove me then,” Modi tweeted. “What we have done has been there for all of you to see for the past 4 years. No one can take that away.”

“I am not the type to quit. Have faith. Did not create this to just walk away - because xyz says what they feel like. ”

“Truth will prevail soon. Trial by media and no chance to present the facts is like the wild west. Wait and the facts will be delivered,” he said.

“Media putting stories without verification, goes to show how media can misuse their power. Don’t get influenced by all these baseless stories.”

A Modi sympathiser in the cricket board said all that Modi wants is a few more days to prepare his defence as the list of charges is spiralling at an alarming speed.

Modi has asked for time till May 1 to reply to the questions raised by the governing council members and government agencies.

The council members fear that Modi might do a Tharoor by presenting his case before the media if he is not allowed to do so in the council. Tharoor, after his resignation, read out his statement to the media outside Parliament House when he was not allowed to speak in the Lok Sabha.

The BCCI is also in bind with a couple of franchisee owners publicly coming out in support of Modi and some others in private.

Bangalore Royal Challengers owner Vijay Mallya and Kings XI Punjab stake holder Preity Zinta expressed their unhappiness at the way Modi is being treated.

Another GC member and union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah said the Modi issue should not be “pre-judged” and that law should be allowed to take its course.

“I do not think anybody will get away. Investigations are on. Let’s not pre-judge who is going to be caught and who is not going to be caught, anybody who is guilty, law will take its own course,” Abdullah told a TV channel.

“I must say in his favour that he brought IPL to this level where it is today. Suddenly, we have all realised that there is something like IPL and India got the biggest name for this.”

Mallya said Modi should be given opportunity to explain himself.

“This whole controversy has become an unnecessary toofan. Yes, there may be some questions the way in which IPL runs. Clearly some governing council members may not be happy. Let all that be properly investigated.

“But to rubbish the IPL as a league, then start casting aspersions on owners, alleging black money involvement, alleging funds from tax havens. I think this is stretching things way way too far,” he said.

Zinta was furious with the media for basing their reports on assumptions. She was livid with a Mumbai daily for linking Modi with her Punjab team.

“Woke up to another false and baseless article stating Lalit Modi owns a stake in KXIP through Akash Aroura! Pls get ur …facts right and worry about lawsuits 4 writing nonsense. Akash Aurora is my close friend and he only attended IPL 2 support me,” she tweeted.

“Sad how ill-informed r media can b following a herd mentality! Who is going to question them and ask 4 accountability 4 ruining peoples names?”