Taking a confrontational stand, a defiant Lalit Modi today refused to resign from his post of IPL Commissioner and dared the Indian Cricket Board to sack him.
Modi said he was being pressurised to quit his position but insisted that will fight his case to the hilt. "People pressurising me to resign - I can tell you (this) will not happen. Let them remove me then," he wrote on his twitter page.
"What we have done has been there for all of you to see for the past 4 years. No one can take that away," he added.
BCCI has called the IPL Governing Council meeting on April 26 to discuss all the issues but Modi is seeking a postponement of the meeting to prepare his defence.
"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 wrote.
Media also came in the firing line of Modi, who accused it of misusing its influence.
"Media putting stories without verification goes to show how Media can misuse there power. Don't get influenced by all these baseless stories," he fumed.
Even at this hour of crisis, Modi showed enthusiasm for work and wrote about the IPL closing ceremony, to be held tomorrow ahead of the final.
"Watch A R Rehman conduct the closing ceremony tomorrow. Lata Mangeshkar will honour us with a live performance."
The entire controversy began when Modi revealed the shareholding pattern of the new Kochi franchise on twitter, breaching the confidentiality clause of the contract with the owners.
The first casualty of the controversy was Minister of state for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor as he was alleged to have helped his friend Sunanda Pushkar in getting a Rs 70 crore sweat equity in the Kochi franchise. Modi is battling charges of corruption as there are allegations that he has hidden stakes in many franchises.
The Income Tax department and the Enforcement Directorate are probing the funding of the tournament and have launched a survey, visiting most of the franchise offices across the nation to check details and documents. The BCCI has already said that it will not hesitate to take harsh decisions to protect its image.
All eyes are now on the IPL Governing Council meeting in Mumbai where Modi's fate is likely to be sealed.
Modi's tweets have made it clear that he is in no mood to go down without a fight and has set the stage for a bitter showdown with the BCCI bosses. who today rejected his emotional plea to defer the governing council meeting by five days. With two days to go for the conclave, the public war of words between the two parties appear to be getting uglier with no side willing to concede an inch.
While Modi had few supporters within the 14-member Governing Council, a few franchise owners like Vijay Mallya (Royal Challengers Bangalore), Shilpa Shetty (Rajasthan Royals) and Jay Mehta (Kolkata Knight Riders) came out in his support.
On a day of fast-paced developments, the top brass of the BCCI held a series of meetings amid intense speculation that Modi would be persuaded to step down voluntarily. But as the day wore on, it became apparent that the efforts were not paying dividends with Modi not willing to buckle under pressure.
The BCCI President Shashank Manohar, vice-President Arun Jaitely, secretary N Srinivasan, IPL vice-Chairman Niranjan Shah, finance and media committee chairman Rajiv Shukla and Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty were present at the meeting. "A decision will be taken on April 26 at the Governing Council meeting," Manohar told waiting reporters after the meeting.
The action unfolded early in the morning with Mallya meeting union minister and former BCCI President Sharad Pawar at his residence. Although it is not known what was discussed, Mallya threw his weight behind Modi.
"I think Modi must be given some opportunity at some point of time to explain himself. This whole controversy has become an unnecessary toofan. Yes, there may be some questions about the way in which IPL runs. Clearly some governing council members may not be happy. Let all that be properly investigated," he said.
There were unconfirmed reports that Pawar wanted the BCCI to give an honourable exit to Modi, whom he had backed when the scandal initially broke out. But no BCCI official confirmed such a development.
The strong "Anti-Modi" mood within the BCCI is quite clear with the entire top brass and most of the Governing Council member boycotting the award function in Mumbai last night. The BCCI officials are also planning to skip the IPL final tomorrow. The BCCI source said that the president is empowered to remove him as per the board constitution and there would be no legal hassles in case such an option is exercised.
Modi's decision not to move court, questioning the validity of the April 26 meeting has also raised speculation that a compromise formula is being worked out.
But the mounting pressure on BCCI to take a hard stand and clean up the entire IPL mess would make it tough for Modi to find an escape route this time around.
The BCCI is believed to be planning to form a sub-committee to run the Twenty20 league in future, according to sources.
"The idea is to carve out a smaller committee out of the present IPL Governing Council and include three or four persons to run the show instead of making it a one-man show like it was till present," the sources said.
The names mentioned in the BCCI corridors are those of Arun Jaitley, Niranjan Shah, Ravi Shastri and Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi. All of them are members of IPL Governing Council headed by Modi whose days seem to be numbered. PTI
