Rajasthan CM on IPL commissioner Modi

Ratcheting up the political pressure on IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi and his supporters, Congress leader and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot issued an unusual communique late tonight in which he slammed former CM Vasundhara Raje and alleged that Modi was involved in several land scams in the state with Raje’s support.

The communiqué was released following a Cabinet meet this evening but the delay, according to the CM’s press advisor, was because of the time it took to word it.

Speaking out for the first time on the issue after becoming the CM and since the run-up to the Assembly elections in 2008, Gehlot claimed that ministers, politicians and bureaucrats had to wait outside Modi’s hotel room for project clearances right through Raje’s five-year term in power in Rajasthan.

“It was in Rajasthan in collusion with the then CM Vasundhara Raje, that Lalit Kumar Modi became the Lalit Modi we know today. In fact for the first time in history, a Chief Minister passed an Act in the assembly (Rajasthan Sports Act) solely to help Modi become the president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) in 2005,” Gehlot said. He added that five years of BJP rule in the state was a blot on

Rajasthan as nothing was done to stop Modi from behaving in an autocratic manner with all state officials.

Gehlot’s remarks come when Modi is at the centre of a controversy that has rocked the IPL and the BCCI in the wake of Shashi Tharoor’s embarrassing resignation.

The BJP in Rajasthan was taken off guard with state unit chief Arun Chaturvedi and Raje refusing to comment. Chaturvedi said, “I was out of station at the time and will react to this tomorrow after studying the release from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).” Raje, who is touring in South Rajasthan, when contacted, refused to comment.

Gehlot accused Modi and Raje of scheming together in what he called “organised land scams.”

“Ms Raje should be bold enough to comment on the organised land scams, misuse of government machinery and international cricket matches held during that time,” Gehlot said. He claimed that all deals Modi was involved in would not have been possible without the tacit support of the CMO.

Referring to the government-constituted Mathur Commission, Gehlot said that had this commission been allowed to go ahead with its work, truth would have been revealed. “The Mathur committee was constituted to precisely reveal the corruption during the previous BJP regime but has been held up in court. It would have shed light on all these matters,” the CM said.

According to Gehlot, ministers, bureaucrats and even BJP politicians had to wait outside Modi’s hotel room for not only project clearances but also to submit accounts. “All officials had to submit their accounts to Modi, for unknown purposes, and anybody who did not was penalised in subtle ways,” Gehlot said. He added that sometimes, when Modi was in Mumbai, housing board officials had to travel there to meet him and get his approval.