Mudgal report should be made public, says Lalit

Former IPL chief Lalit Modi on Monday targeted his bete noire N Srinivasan, questioning how he could still head the International Cricket Council (ICC) while facing serious allegations.

He demanded that the report of the Justice Mukul Mudgal Committee, which probed the IPL betting scandal, be made public.

Modi said he was not behind leakage of his email to ICC accusing three cricketers — Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo — of taking bribes from a bookie. He said the BCCI leaked his mails to the ICC because of internal politics.

“This leak could be a ploy against Srinivasan. If I had wanted to do it, I would have done so three years ago,” he told India Today channel.

Referring to the Mudgal Committee report, he said the names have to be revealed as “match-fixing is a huge issue”.

“Why are we shielding anybody? Why has the BCCI not pursued anybody? Why have the names not been revealed? The nation wants to know,” he said. “Indian cricketers, who are still playing, (were) involved (in betting) as per the reports of the Mudgal Committee,” he added.

Security concerns

Asked why he refuses to return to India, Modi said security fears were forcing him to stay in London. “The only thing stopping me from coming back to India is the security issue,” he said, asking why the UPA government withdrew his security.

“Why did (former home minister) P Chidambaram withdraw my security after I testified against Shashi Tharoor?” he said.

He also challenged the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to produce evidence against him. “There was no case against me when I was in India. The ED has no proof against me. I gave the ED all the documents. The ED prosecuted the BCCI because of the documents I provided,” he said.

Asked about the controversy, he said he did not start it. “You come after me and keep coming after me and I will hit back. I am not done yet. You will see more in the coming days. I am not going to take all the bullets and not fight back,” he said.

Queried about the perception that he was a fugitive, he said, “Please be careful while using the word. On what basis am I being called a fugitive? Is there any case pending before a court of law in India against me?”