With reports appearing in media suggesting his and his family’s alleged involvement in IPL bidding for Pune team, NCP chief and agriculture minister Sharad Pawar on Friday strongly denied the charges. The ruling Congress, though, left the Maratha strongman to defend for himself, main Opposition BJP demanded the minister’s resignation.
“No member of my family is involved in any IPL team or in the bidding process or has taken interest in bidding,” Mr Pawar said. Ms Supriya Sule also said that she had nothing to do with City Corporation MD Aniruddha Deshpande’s unsuccessful bid for the Pune IPL team. Ms Sule said that Mr Deshpande made the bid in his individual capacity.
The company board had passed a resolution saying that the company was not involved in the bid. Mr Deshpande had participated in his individual capacity. “The company had no connection with the bid. It is clear from the resolution,” Mr Pawar emphasised.
He also said the bid was not successful, as it went to a company owned by Sahara. “Had the City Corporation bid for the team, it would not have lost,” he added. “Anyone, who has done wrong, will face the consequences,” he added.
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Munde: Pawar must quit
Umesh Mohite
Mumbai
June 4: The Bharatiya Janata Party mounted a full-fledged attack on Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and his MP daughter Supriya Sule after media reports suggested that the Pawar family held shares in a company that bid for the Pune Indian Premier League team.
While an embattled Mr Pawar and Ms Sule denied their roles in the controversy-ridden IPL, BJP MP Gopinath Munde told reporters that the party wanted Mr Pawar to step down, failing which the party wanted the Prime Minister to sack him from the Union ministry.
The IPL is the brain child of Mr Pawar and everyone knows that the idea germinated when Mr Pawar was the Board of Control for Cricket in India president, said Mr Munde. Further, Mr Munde added that Mr Pawar had blatantly lied saying that he had nothing to do with the biggest scam in the country. He said that when the scam was first unveiled Mr Pawar got away saying that he had nothing to do with it.