BCCI bans 'guilty' Lalit Modi for life with 29-0 vote

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The decision to ban Lalit Modi from BCCI for life was taken much ahead of the board's special general meeting (SGM), which started at 2:05 pm on Wednesday and was over by 2:20 pm.

Modi the maverick became history as his sworn enemy, president-in-exile N Srinivasan, clinically packed him off, gaining a huge advantage ahead of the annual general meeting (AGM) on Sunday.

The 29-0 scoreline in an electorate of 30 (the J&K representative was absent) said it all. There was no voice of support for Modi who was desperately trying to prolong his administrative career.

All Srinivasan needed was a two-thirds majority (21 votes), but there was no voice of dissent, proving beyond doubt who is the supreme boss in BCCI at the moment.

"Modi is guilty of committing acts of misconduct and indiscipline, and therefore, in exercise of powers as per Regulation 32 of the Memorandum of Rules and Regulations of the BCCI, Modi is hereby expelled from the board," a terse note written by BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel was sent to the media.

Modi's Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court to stop the SGM was rejected and a letter that he had sent to BCCI urging the members to allow him to present his case or defer the meeting to a date after the Sunday AGM wasn't paid attention to.

"Please note that I do intend to appear before the SGM and place my version and the facility that was extended to the BCCI witnesses for the purposes of recording of their evidence, that is by way of video conferencing, may kindly be extended to me as well," Modi had said in his letter.

According to a BCCI member present in the meeting, they were informed about the contents of Modi's letter but they didn't feel it important enough to attach importance to it.

"He was found guilty by the disciplinary committee and there was no reason to waste too much time on it any longer. And Modi wasn't available for video conferencing either," a BCCI member present in the meeting told the TOI.

"It was a unanimous choice to ban Modi. The proposer was Anirudh Chaudhury from the Haryana Cricket Association and the seconder was Ranjib Biswal from Orissa Cricket Association. There was no voice of opposition," Rajeev Shukla said.

IS Bindra, the president of Punjab Cricket Association and a known Modi sympathizer, didn't attend the meeting and MP Pandove, who represented the association, went in favour of the motion.

The only office-bearer absent from the meeting chaired by Srinivasan was North Zone vice-president Arun Jaitley, who was busy with a BJP rally in Bhopal.

The BCCI caretaker chief Jagmohan Dalmiya was one of the first to leave the scene of action, and when asked how the meeting went, he said: "There are people of importance in the meeting. They will let you know." It was quite clear from Dalmiya's early departure that his days as BCCI's interim chief are all but over. Unless a court ruling on Friday - on Aditya Verma's petition to stop Srinivasan from attending the AGM - goes against him, the TN strongman is all set to come back to power.

The TNCA president arrived at the venue with his troops much ahead of SGM and held a few meetings with the representatives of the associations who had arrived. Even after the meeting, he stayed at the venue for a couple of hours, strategizing ahead of the Sunday AGM.

"Yes, he had meetings with us but it was more informal," one of his loyalists said.

There was a sense of resignation in the rival camp, which couldn't dare to raise its voice on Wednesday and is now waiting for the Friday court ruling on Verma's petition.

"Unless the court intervenes, it's game, set and match to Srini for this year," a member said.


Lalit Modi more stills


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