No misuse of my official position: Tharoor

NEW DELHI - Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor has said that he did not misuse his official position and has no role in the Indian Premier League (IPL) bidding process.

“My ministerial position irrelevant,” said Tharoor, adding that he had no role in the Kochi IPL consortium.

A private television channel quoted Tharoor as saying that his role was that of an informal mentor, adding that an IPL team is the dream of many cricket lovers in Kerala.

“The notion of proxy for me is insulting,” said Tharoor, adding that the reference to Sunanda Pushkar has hurt him, NDTV reported.

“I was in no position to influence the bid,” said Tharoor, asserting that money was never a motivating factor for him.

Tharoor is reportedly in trouble after IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi tweeted to reveal that Sunanda Pushkar, a close associate of Tharoor, had been gifted equity worth 70 crores in the new Kochi team which was sold for 1530 crores last month.

Modi in his email to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief Shashank Manohar had stated it was Tharoor who called him and instructed him not to reveal the identities of the stakeholders of the Kochi IPL franchisee.

Tharoor, however, has denied pressurising Modi.

Tharoor said he had ‘enough’ of the controversy and went on to deny any monetary interest in the Kochi IPL team. (ANI)