Modi offered us $50m to drop bid, says Kochi team

Lalit Modi called some of the members of our consortium partners (in a face-to face meeting) and asked us to take $50 million, walk out and forget about the team. He said, ‘I'm interested in another team'. We refused."

"This is what happened," Satyajit Gaikwad, spokesman for Rendezvous Sports World Private Ltd, the Kochi consortium, told Hindustan Times on Wednesday. Gaekwad is a two- time Congress MP.

With Parliament resuming its budget session on Thursday the IPL war of words escalated to a new high with the Kochi team franchise, its mentor minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor and his friend Sunanda Pushkar defending themselves and going on the offensive in the same breath.

Gaikwad, who is a cousin of Kochi franchise CEO Shailendra Gaikwad, accused the IPL chairman of "trying to create confu-sion" and "trying to undermine the team by making statements that will create doubt about us and force us to get out". He denied though, that two promin-ent Cabinet Ministers were part of any plan to force them out.

Modi called the $50m allegation "baseless" and "a figment of imagination". "I met him (the reference in this case was to Shailendra Gaikwad) at the conference and thereafter at the Maurya Sheraton hotel where all owners were present," he said.

"We also met during the signing ceremony and that is all. I want to know where I met him to make this offer."

Source : http://www.hindustantimes.com/rssfeed/cricket/Modi-offered-us-50m-to-drop-bid-says-Kochi-team/Article1-531309.aspx