IPL row over business interest

The ongoing spat between the Minister of state for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor and Indian Premier League boss Lalit Modi is nothing but the clash of business interest for their friends and family members respectively over the purchase of Kochi team in IPL. Rendezevous Sports bought the Kochi team and IPL Commissioner Lalit disclosed the names of share holders in it through a blog on Twitter. Modi’s blog reveals that one of the share holders in Rendezevous is Sushan Puskar , a close friend of Tharoor, and because of that he has exerted influence as Union Minister of State for External Affairs for her business interest in buying the Kochi team in IPL. She holds 18 percent share in Rendezevous Sports. According to the report, the Minister got upset over Modi’s revelation and alleged that he had brought disrepute to the IPL by pressurising the winning consortium (led by Rendezvous which owns the Kochi team) to abandon its bid in favour of another city. He asked Modi to disclose the names of share holders of other IPL teams because his brother-in-law is reportedly holds share in them. Tharoor has denied that he had invested or gained personal benefits for his membership to the team. He has also alleged that various attempts were made by Modi and others to pressure the consortium members to abandon their bid in favour of another city in a different state. The main cause of the row between the two is the disclosure of the names of owners of the Kochi team and their shareholding stakes. Tharoor says that it is an extraordinary breach of all propriety in publicly raising issues relating to the composition of the consortium (of owners) and about him personally. He denies all allegations against him. But one thing is certain that Tharoor knows Shusan Pushkar very closely.Rendezvous Sports World bought the franchise for the IPL Kochi team for $333 million. Kochi is one of two new franchises which will join the IPL from 2011, taking the total number of teams to 10.The Rendezvous consortium had earlier issued a legal notice to the BCCI, terming the share-holding pattern posted by the IPL chairman as false. The opposition BJP also tries to fish in troubled water by demanding that tharoor should be sacked immediately for abusing his power as minister. Observing that the IPL row between Tharoor and Modi is getting serious day by day , the BCCI has also stepped in and described the BJP demand to sack Tharoor as absurd. Financial interest is the main behind the launching IPL on the model of English league teams of cricket of 20 overs. It has become clear now that there is primacy of money over everything else in IPL.