Modi tweets up hot IPL row

For the second day running, aides close to the minister of state for external affairs, Mr Shashi Tharoor, have denied any link with the stunning Dubai socialite, Ms Sunanda Pushkar, who has now been named by the Indian Premier League commissioner, Mr Lalit Modi, as an 18 per cent stakeholder in the IPL Kochi franchise Rendezvous Sports World (RSW) and a “close associate” of the minister.

Mr Tharoor, when asked to comment on persistent reports that he was planning to tie the knot on June 26 with Ms Pushkar, a Dubai-based Indian socialite who has already been married twice before, rubbished the reports.

An aide close to the minister also denied that SMS invitations had been sent to several leading Indian businessmen in the port city, whom many believe have funded and backed the so-called Kochi franchisees.

The aide clarified that Ms Pushkar only had a five per cent stake in the company.

The Kochi franchise is now accusing Mr Modi of breaking the confidentiality clause and have threatened to sue him. The Kochi franchise has also complained to the BCCI president, Mr Shashank Manohar, about Mr Modi’s indiscretion.

Sources said the Kochi franchise wants Mr Modi to disclose the stake-holding pattern in other franchises like Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab.

RSW sources alleged that Mr Modi was interested in having Ahmedabad as one of the franchises for the subsequent IPL seasons and was therefore creating problems for Kochi which emerged as second highest bidder in the auction.

As the minister seeks to distance himself from the controversy, the issue of just who owns the Kochi franchise in the expanded IPL is under scanner with Mr Modi revealing details of ownership pattern.

In his Twitter post, Mr Modi named the members of the group that put in the successful Rs 1,532-crore bid on March 21, revealing that the free equity holders in the Rendezvous Sports World consortium partners include Kisan Shailender and Pushpa Gaikwad, Ms Pushkar, Puja Gulati, Jayant Kotalwar, Vishnu Prasad and Sundip Agarwal, according to Mr Modi.