The man who is instrumental in inviting the wrath of the opposition on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its leader Narendra Modi now appears to be seeking to make amends, after the party said it would seek an interpol ‘red corner notice’ against him.
Lalit Modi, sitting in London, tweeted on Saturday that Prime Minister Modi was a “most savvy (sic) man”.
The former chief of the Indian Premier League, embroiled in several controversies and whose passport was revoked by the Indian government, said that “when he (Modi) bats, he will hit the ball out of the park”.
Lalit Modi, who has been putting out reams of information through tweets and other media, was apparently helped by External Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje, at a time when he was being sought by the Enforcement Directorate during the previous United Progressive Alliance regime.
Modi’s tweet praising the prime minister came on the day Raje was in Delhi, for an official meeting, but was planning to meet the BJP brass to give her side of the story. According to sources, she was expected to meet the prime minister, but latest reports said that the meeting had not come through.
Raje has accepted that she had signed a document supporting the application of Lalit Modi for a residence visa in Britain. The opposition parties say that at best this points to an impropriety by a leading BJP leader when the IPL chief was wanted by the authorities in India.
Lalit Modi, who has been staying in London for several years, is sought by the Enforcement Directorate for alleged financial irregularities when he was the IPL head.
He has been tweeting regularly, often implying nothing more than a meeting with political figures.
Names 3 cricketers who were bribed
Controversial former IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi has alleged that two leading Indian cricketers and a West Indian player had been bribed by an Indian real estate tycoon, who is also a bookmaker. London-based Modi tweeted a letter he claims to have written to International Cricket Council (ICC) CEO Dave Richardson in June 2013, passing on “some information that I have just got.” He told Richardson that he could pass the same to the anti-corruption and security unit of the ICC if he thought so fit. Modi then went on to name the three players, who he claims were in close contact with the real estate tycoon who was also named in the letter. Modi stated that he had been informed by “reliable sources” that the tycoon had paid in cash and kind to the three players. He concluded by saying that “I hope this is not true but if true it could mean more are involved.”