Mumbai:
Despite what he had promised, Lalit Modi has decided not to go to court to stop the meeting where he's to be asked to quit as Chairman of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The IPL's governing council is scheduled to meet on Monday, April 27. Its one-point agenda is to ask Modi, who is the IPL Chairman and Commissioner, to resign.
Modi has said he won't resign. In fact, he's not attending the meeting, he insists. The IPL and its parent body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have said that won't stop them from sacking him. (
Read: Modi wants to cancel critical IPL meeting, questions its legality)
Modi had earlier said that he wanted the meeting to be postponed because he is busy with the last few matches of the current IPL season. This argument won favour with at least one governing council member, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, who told NDTV that Modi's request was not illogical, but that he should present it in person at the meeting.
"If he doesn't come to the meeting, I suspect the BCCI will take a very strict view. Lalit is playing very hard to get. I am not sure what Modi is up to," said Pataudi. (
Read & watch: A committee should replace Modi, says Pataudi)
Modi has been crashing and burning career-wise since earlier this month, when he used twitter to declare the stakeholders of the new Kochi team. Those tweets cost Shashi Tharoor his position as a minister; but they've also landed Modi and the IPL bang at the centre of a nationwide financial inquiry by the government.
The picture, based on the first few days of investigation, isn't pretty. Money-laundering, tax evasion, match-fixing, betting - these are all charges that seem to be not unsubstantiated, based on the first few days of the financial excavation into the IPL's so-far carefully guarded depths.
Modi's "Tweet, Play, Flub" has also forced several politicians to issue rapid clarifications that they are not financially attached to the IPL or its teams. Among ministers who're fighting allegations of inappropriate links to the IPL are Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel. Their Nationalist Congress Party is a key ally in the government. (
Read: Sharad Pawar unfazed by Parliament storm)
The Opposition, in Parliament on Friday, accused the Congress of shielding both men because of this alliance. The Left and the BJP have demanded a joint parliamentary inquiry into the IPL. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee did not rule this out, highlighting that this is not "instant coffee" and that he will consult the Prime Minister on the issue. Government sources say the Congress will consult with its allies as well to get their take on the benefits of an inquiry conducted by members of the Opposition and the government.(
Read & watch: Opposition targets Pawar, Praful over IPL)