Shashi Tharoor's exit may have brought some relief to the Congress but the second act of the messy IPL drama that's brought the knives out against Lalit Modi — after his “outing” of Sunanda Pushkar — has also touched off fresh tension between the Congress and ally Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), reports Indian Express.
Supriya Sule, daughter of NCP chief and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, sprang a surprise making a suo motu “clarification” that none of her relatives had anything to do with any of the IPL franchises. And Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, asked if a section of the Congress was involved in the campaign against him, told The Indian Express that he would not name anybody from any party but the fact remained that “some elements” were spreading a slanderous campaign.
“I am happy that government has ordered a probe into it and now truth will come out. I have nothing to do with IPL, this I can assure you,” said Patel.
Supriya Sule denied reports that her husband Sadanand Sule was linked with the bidding for an IPL team. “My husband has nothing to do with the teams in IPL. Yes, we love cricket like all avid Indians, and as all of you do. We enjoy the game, that is where the buck stops,” she said.
Patel told The Indian Express that today's meeting between Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Pawar and Home Minister P Chidambaram, had nothing to do with cricket but discussed “wheat arrivals in North India.”
However, sources said that the Congress has conveyed it to Pawar that he has to stop backing IPL Commissioner Modi.
Mukherjee's statement in Parliament yesterday that “all aspects” of the IPL's functioning would be probed was meant to underline this message. This assumes significance given that before Tharoor's resignation, Pawar had openly backed Modi on the issue of revealing the names of stakeholders of the Kochi franchise.
Before he was given marching orders, Tharoor is said to have claimed to the Congress top brass that Pawar and Patel, apart from Narendra Modi and Lalit Modi, were behind the campaign to oust him. The Congress leadership, sources said, found “some merit” in this argument although it didn't help the beleaguered Minister given the impropriety of his “friend” Sunanda Pushkar's stake in the team.
The Congress's antagonism towards Lalit Modi isn't new. It has its roots in his association with BJP leaders, especially former Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje. In fact, so deep is the hostility that Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot buried his differences with Rural Development Minister C P Joshi to support the latter's candidature in the election for the post of Rajasthan Cricket Association President.
Now with Pawar seen as “soft” on Modi and the Congress smarting over Tharoor's dismissal — he's only the second Minister to quit since K Natwar Singh over the Volcker report — there's a growing sentiment in the party that the NCP needs to be shown its place.
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