Modi won’t go quietly,will not go to April 26 meeting

“The IPL has been given the powers by the general body to hold their own meetings and I am sorry to say the Hon Secretary has never called a GC since inception or is the convenor. All he is actually is a ex-officio member of the GC as a office-bearer of BCCI,and as he is a conflicted party who owns a team. He has never,and can now too not call a GC meeting,” Modi wrote.

“If the meeting does go ahead on the 26th of April instead of 1st of May as I have asked (it) will (be) deemed to be unofficial. I do not propose to attend any unauthorised meeting,” he wrote.

But the BCCI said it was all set to go ahead with the April 26 meeting. Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty said: “The meeting hasn’t been postponed,it will take place on April 26.”

With Modi not giving in to pressure to quit and adopting a confrontational approach (his mail to Manohar starts with “I disagree with you completely”) and the BCCI keen to curtail his powers,a battle is on the cards.

Modi’s mail — to which The Indian Express has access — also mentions that the April 26 meeting doesn’t give him enough time to dig out details that he will need to present his case before the GC. “We are working 24×7 and as such have had no time to prepare or will have time to do so till post 26th.”

Meanwhile,Modi has been in touch with franchise owners,asking them to make public their ownership details.

In a mail marked to all eight owners and also to GC members,Modi wrote: “Propriety and fair play demand we should as public body disclose ownership details along with name of directors of all franchisees once again. Earlier,we at the time of bidding only disclosed the names and share holding.

“If everyone is okay with this we will issue the same right away,that way all doubts and aspersions being cast on IPL franchises and members of GC (will be) appropriately rebutted. I hope you all agree with the same.”

In another development that points to Modi’s increasing isolation,the BCCI is likely to stay away from Friday’s IPL Awards. A top BCCI official said: “There wouldn’t be a complete boycott since IPL is after all a BCCI event. There will be token representation.”