N Srinivasan asked Arun Jaitley to oppose RTI in BCCI: Lalit Modi tweets
Lalit Modi has shared on his twitter feed a 2012 email allegedly written by N Srinivasan to Arun Jaitley in which the then BCCI president had asked the then board vice president and opposition leader in Rajya Sabha to “strongly oppose” a few contentious parts of the National Sports Bill, including the provision to bring the BCCI under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
“Dear Arun ji,” wrote Srinivasan, “Last night, Sri ________ informed me that Mr Ajay Maken (who was the sports minister then) had met him to discuss the sports bill. It appears that Mr Maken was insisting on RTI being applicable to BCCI and also that he wanted sportsmen to have representation upto 25% in the Managing Committee of BCCI…As you are aware, apart from our objections to the application of RTI and the representation of sportsmen in the Managing Committee, the constitution of the Appellate Tribunal and the powers given to it is also not at all in the interest of any sports body let alone BCCI.
“I request you to strongly oppose the damaging section of the bill.”
Meanwhile, in a 2009 mail ‘leaked’ by Modi, Srinivasan, who BCCI’s secretary at that time, had written to then president Shashank Manohar complaining that Lalit Modi, who was IPL’s commissioner, was bragging too much about the league’s success in South Africa, and that could irk the government.
“Dear Shashank,” wrote Srinivasan, “Lalit has been giving interviews to the media channels frequently from South Africa… The thrust of his interviews seems to be that in spite of everything, IPL is highly successful in South Africa… Frankly according to me there is no need for all this self-publicity. There is no need to irritate Governmental agencies by saying that we have achieved something great in South Africa,” Srinivasan said in the letter dated April 4, 2009. The IPL began in South Africa on April 18, 2009.
“There is no need to highlight the financial success of IPL. There is no need for Lalit to act as if he is bigger than the BCCI President. His constant TV announcement on the money that we are making will definitely result in BCCI being taxed sooner or later… I think we must ut an end to this craze for publicity that is being displayed. I request you to send a message to Lalit that there is not need for him to hold any press conference/interviews to the media… I am a tolerant person but now I am starting to get a little irritated by his public posturing. As an individual I couldn’t be bothered but as Secretary of the BCCI, I feel he is doing a great disservice to the BCCI, and hence this message to you.”
By releasing another set of mails, again from 2009, Modi also sought to prove that certain payments during IPL 2 to the South African board were approved by the then board secretary Srinivasan.
Srinivasan was unavailable for comment on Saturday.
Rahul Mehra wanted F&B contract: Modi
Sports lawyer and Aam Admi Party’s Standing Counsel (Criminal) Rahul Mehra in the Delhi High Court found himself in Lalit Modi’s firing line on Friday night. Mehra, who has participated in a few television debates on Modi, had allegedly written a mail to the then IPL commissioner in 2008 — the first season of the IPL — seeking “a go ahead for our proposed project of transforming the in-stadia F&B industry in India”.
“What is @TheRahulMehra <http://twitter.com/TheRahulMehra> grouse with me – have kept Quiet for Years well here it is. U can see him screaming on tv,” Modi tweeted, attaching the following mail.
“Dear Lalit ji… Since we first met, sometime in 2003-04, I have been an ardent admirer of your passion for the game, doget (sic) determination, progressive attitude, professionalism and incredible skill of getting things done despite red tape and opposition from within, which the world has only recently been exposed to. Needless to say that I would not like to embarass (sic) you by mailing you time and again and would be grateful if I could speak with you before your proposed meeting with the Franchisees on 17th on issues such as creating a central pool for F&B whereby you could call F&B rights back to IPL, revenue sharing, amongst others…
“We all look forward to hearing from you so as some clear indication as regards the time frame withing which we could get exclusive F&B rights for all eight IPL stadiums for the second and future IPL seasons. Thanks & warm regards, Rahul.”
In his replies to Modi’s tweets, Mehra didn’t deny that he wrote the mail. “@LalitKModi I have absolutely no grouse with you Lalit. I have always maintained you did produce a great product which went horribly wrong,” he wrote.
“I too had a dream of changing spectators in-stadia viewing experience, which by the way till date is horrible to say the least, “ Mehra added.
Modi replied: “Then stop attacking all who bat for me. You are just like the rest. U should know better who did what I did for IN (emoticon).”
