Chairman of the United Breweries (UB) Group Vijay Mallya on Monday termed reports of Nationalist Congress Party chief and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar holding shares in the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) team “ridiculous and absurd.”
He was talking to journalists after filing his nomination papers as an independent candidate for the Rajya Sabha elections from Karnataka.
Mr. Mallya, who owns the RCB, said: “Mr. Pawar holds shares in United Spirits Limited [USL] through the merger of Baramati Grapes. Anybody can hold shares in a public company. There are lakhs of shareholders. But to suggest that he is part owner of the RCB is ridiculous.”
“I will look after interests of all shareholders in the USL. Some people are trying to embarrass the Pawar family, which is completely uncalled for.”
Mr. Mallya was reacting to reports that Mr. Pawar and his family owned over 51,000 shares in the USL and that the Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited (RCSPL) was a subsidiary of the USL.
On whether he had spoken about the matter to Mr. Pawar, Mr. Mallya said: “There is no need to speak about it. It is not worth talking about.”
‘Focus on cricket'
On the IPL controversy, he said it was time to “focus more on cricket, the development of cricket, and the forthcoming World Cup.”
“Forget all petty controversies. The allegations have reached a proportion bordering on insanity…both Lalit Modi and the BCCI should talk to each other and study each other's replies and act judiciously,” he said.
To a query on whether he won the RCB bid with Mr. Pawar's help, he said it was an open bid and that he won three of the bids, adding that he was the highest bidder. “I did not require anyone's help.”
