New Delhi, April 13 (Inditop.com) The Indian Premier League (IPL) row involving Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor reached the Supreme Court Tuesday with an advocate seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into his role in purchase of Kochi’s IPL franchise by a consortium.
Advocate Ajay Agrawal said Tharoor’s alleged girlfriend Sunanda Pushkar has a five percent stake in the consortium.
Through his lawsuit, Agrawal sought the court’s direction for a probe by the CBI or a special panel constituted by the court.
Referring to media reports of Tharoor’s alleged role in securing Kochi’s IPL franchise for M/s Rendezvous Sports World Limited, Agrawal alleged he misused his official position for securing five percent stake, worth Rs.700 million, free of cost for his alleged girlfriend Pushkar in the consortium.
“It is shocking that some influence was exercised by the union minister and this is evident from the fact that the alleged fiancee of the minister got a stake of around Rs.700 million free,” said Agrawal in his petition.
“The transfer of equity without any consideration to a person so close to the minister has raised eyebrows,” said Agrawal in his petition.
Agrawal alleged: “Pushkar, who hails from an Indian family with business interests in Dubai, has been seeing the minister and has been introduced in the political and social circles as the minister’s future wife.”
“Tharoor too has been all along describing himself as a mentor of the Kochi franchise, however, without any direct stake,” the petition added.
Agrawal also referred to Tharoor’s statement, issued earlier in the day in which he has admitted that M/s Rendezvous Sports World Limited, set up to bid for the an IPL franchise, had approached him and he had suggested them to bid for a franchise in Kerala.
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