WHERE DID Lalit Modi lie?
Lalit Modi has chosen to come on TV to clear apprehensions in the minds of Indian public about his alleged misdeeds and the entire country watched his interview with great interest. The way Modi refuted all allegations against him and rather portrayed himself as a champion entrepreneur who launched a new product, Indian Premier League (IPL), highly successfully, left everybody with a good impression.
In fact, to many it appeared that Mr. Modi was clean, innocent man who was being unnecessarily targeted by the BCCI and the Government of India. He should have been rewarded for his great contribution in glorifying India. When asked why he was being targeted, he blamed it to jealousy of board members of the BCCI. He brushed aside all allegations of misappropriation of BCCI money and claimed that he met all his personal expenses himself. To a pointed question whether he had pocketed any money from the IPL funds, he denied it clearly. Where did Lalit Modi lie in all this?
There can be no two views about Lalit Modi’s commendable contribution in making IPL happen and making India proud. He saw a dream of creating IPL and single-handed turned it into reality. Surely, no one would have believed him when he first came up with the idea and asked people to invest large sums for it to happen. He would have been able to convince only his relatives and friends to invest. However after first edition of IPL became successful, things changed dramatically. Now everybody saw an opportunity in IPL to make big money and fame. People wanted to be associated with IPL in one way or the other, including owning a team.
However, Lalit Modi being a shrewd businessman as he is now, saw an opportunity to make big money for himself. He was the sole in-charge of IPL. Nothing moved without his knowledge and command. He set up everything to his advantage. He obtained a percentage of profit from everything connected with IPL. The board members of BCCI saw it all, fumed, but could do a little about it; IPL was entirely Modi’s brainchild. The second edition of IPL thus made BCCI board members enemies of Lalit Modi.
When the third edition of IPL clashed with general elections in India, the board members of BCCI tried to get it scrapped through the Government of India. Lalit Modi again turned the tables on them by taking IPL in a short span of 21 days to South Africa and making it hugely successful there. However, this time around he made enemies in the government.
Next, the question of creating two more teams for the fourth edition of IPL came. Since Modi was used to get a share from the team owners, the proposal of Kochi team, which came without him, surprised him. Here he made the blunder of his life by questioning the ownership of Kochi team. Since a minister in the government of India had an interest in raising this team and after Modi questioned, the minister had to quit, the enmity of government towards Lalit Modi grew. The government now wanted his scrap the setup at all costs. Poor Modi had to hide in the UK.
His interview on TV on 25 November 2010 is being seen as an attempt by him to seek forgiveness from the government in view of the great contribution he made in creating IPL and bringing laurels to India. Will the government forgive him?
0 comments:
Post a Comment