BJP demands CBI probe into alleged misuse of office by Shashi Tharoor
merisarkar news service
New Delhi, April 13, 2010
BJP demanded Shashi Tharoor's removal from the cabinet
Main opposition party BJP on Tuesday demanded a CBI probe into the alleged misuse of office by minister of state for external sffairs Shashi Tharoor to favour a Kochi Franchisee in the recently held IPL auction.
BJP's chief spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad charged that it is a clear case of corruption in which a close associate of the minister has been benefitted.
The BJP leader urged the Prime Minister to remove Shashi Tharoor from the council of ministers for his alleged misconduct.
However, ruling Congress party has rejected the BJP's allegation. Party spokesperson Shakeel Ahmad said that it is upto the cricket board to decide on the allegations of impropriety over his role in the Kochi IPL team.
However, in a related development, external affairs minister SM Krishna met the Congress President Sonia Gandhi after the news reports appeared in the media linking Shashi Tharoor to a lady called Sunanda Pushkar - who holds 18 per cent share in IPL's newly sold Kochi franchise.
Lalit Modi alleged influence by a powerful union minister
IPL commissioner Lalit Modi has said on his twitter account that he was influenced by a influential central minister not to go into the details of investment made by Sunanda Pushkar.
Shashi Tharoor denied all the allegations leveled against him by Lalit Modi and criticized him for breach of trust.
Shashi Tharoor lamented Lalit Modi for this alleged breach of trust by issuing a terse statement on his twitter account: "His extraordinary breach of all propriety in publicly raising issues relating to the composition of the consortium and myself personally is clearly an attempt to discredit the team and create reasons to disqualify it so that the franchise can be awarded elsewhere."
Shashi Tharoor alleged that Lalit Modi tried to pressurize the successful consortium to abandon their bid in favour of some city located outside Kerala.
Vice President of the Cricket Control Board and Congress MP Rajiv Shukla also met Mrs. Gandhi following the controversy.
BCCI has decided to take up the issue for discussion in the next 10 days.
