Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah is not in favour of removing Lalit Modi as Indian Premier League Commissioner in the wake of the Kochi franchise controversy. But, he wants Mr. Modi's powers curbed by the BCCI president.
Dr. Abdullah, who is also the president of the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association, said Mr. Modi had to come clean on the stakes held by his relatives.
Asked whether he would want Mr. Modi cut to size or be removed from the post in the light of his public spat with Union Minister Shashi Tharoor, Dr. Abdullah said: “No, I would not be in favour of it. But I would want the BCCI president also to exert a dominant power.”
“It is not about downsizing him but it is about [having] checks and balances,” he told Karan Thapar in the Devil's Advocate Programme on CNN-IBN .
Digital rights
Also Mr. Modi would have to clarify how the IPL digital rights were owned by his relatives. “First of all, it is going to hit him. He will have to explain whether he was involved in giving the rights to them.”
Asked whether the BCCI should seek an explanation from Mr. Modi on the digital rights issue, Dr. Abdullah said: “Yes, strongly. Whether he has played underhand to get them [for his relatives]. If they [relatives] have got it on their own, I am not against it.”
