Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday called minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor to 10, Janpath to hear his explanation about his alleged role in the IPL Kochi franchisee. Party sources said a final view would be taken only after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ascertains ?all the facts? after his return to the country on Saturday.
Congress sources said Tharoor, during his meeting with Gandhi, swore he was innocent and attributed the allegations against him to rival consortiums, backed by some powerful politicians, which had failed to secure the franchisee.
Earlier in the day, Tharoor had a meeting with finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and defence minister AK Antony who were said to have scrutinised a draft statement that he was to read in Parliament if the Opposition were to raise the issue. Tharoor had also been called to Mukherjee?s residence late Wednesday evening for an explanation.
Meanwhile, Kochi franchises spokesman Satyajit Gaikwad alleged that Gujarat chief mInister Narendra Modi had close ties with IPL commissioner Lalit Modi and wanted him to bring a team to Ahmedabad.
?After we won the bid, our investors spoke to (former BCCI chief) Sharad Pawar and asked him which city to choose. He said ?you can take your pick?, so we decided to take Kochi,? Gaikwad told reporters.
But the Gujarat government rebutted the allegations, saying they were baseless and chief minister Modi had nothing to do withthe controversy.
Gujarat home minister Amit Shah told reporters that some promoters had met the chief minister but that meeting did not decide the bidding process for the highest quote to become successful. Gujarat will welcome any team, he said, for holding matches in the state.