New Delhi, June 4 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Friday demanded resignation of union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, alleging that he had misled the nation about his interest relating to the Indian Premier League (IPL).
‘He should resign forthwith. If (he does) not, we demand stern action against Pawar from Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh),’ BJP chief spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters here.
A media report Friday said Pawar and his family members had 16 percent share in City Corporation which was one of the bidders for Pune Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise.
However Pawar, who also heads the Nationalist Congress Party, told reporters here Friday morning that no member of his family was part of the IPL teams nor had the family taken part in the bidding process.
He said Anirudh Deshpande, managing director of City Corporation, had made the bid for the team in his individual capacity.
Slamming Pawar’s claim of no involvement in the Pune IPL bidding, Prasad said: ‘Sharad Pawar and family said they had nothing to do with the IPL scandal but in the light of whatever has come out, it is clear that he has mismanaged not only food inflation but cricket too.’
Pawar’s reasoning that the company board had passed a resolution against involvement in the bid ‘was a lame excuse’, he said, adding: ‘Sharad Pawar has misled and misrepresented the country being a senior minister with commercial interest in the bid and not for the love of cricket as he claims.’
Demanding a probe into the matter, Prasad said Deshpande’s plan to execute his bid by a different consortium comprising a Mumbai construction company, the Maharashtra Cricket Association and others was in violation of the company law.
The BJP leader also demanded a joint parliamentary probe into IPL finances.
‘There should be an investigation into the entire City Corporation, Rs.1,176 crore is a big amount,’ he added.
The Pune IPL team franchise was won by the Sahara group.
