Two days before Sunanda Pushkar was found dead in a Delhi hotel, she claimed to a reporter that she had taken the blame for alleged misdeeds conducted by her husband, politician Shashi Tharoor, during the auction for a cricket franchise of the Indian Premier League in 2010.
"I took upon myself the crimes of this man during IPL [Indian Premier League]," she told the Economic Times. "I will not allow this to be done to me. I just can't tolerate this."
Pushkar also confirmed to the reporter that it was she who had had been posting controversial Twitter messages on her husband's account that had allegedly been sent to him in private by a Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar. Pushkar claimed that the journalist had been stalking her husband. Tharoor is the minister of state for human resource development.
After his wife's death in Delhi’s Hotel Leela on Friday, Tharoor called for an investigation and pledged his support to it, hoping to clear the speculation about him and his wife.
The controversy about irregularities in the ownership of Kochi Tuskers Kerala, a now-defunct team of the Indian Premier League, had forced Tharoor to resign his position as India's minister of state for external affairs minister in 2010.
That controversy had also been set off by Twitter. In March 2010, a group of investors made a successful bid of more than $330 million to bring a team to Kochi, in Kerala. They had approached Tharoor earlier for guidance about bringing a team to the state, since he represents its capital city, Thiruvananthapuram, in parliament.
Lalit Modi, who was then the IPL's chief, later questioned why a 25 per cent share in the franchise was given to a group that included Sunanda Pushkar, who was not yet married to Tharoor at that point. Modi alleged that Pushkar's shares were really intended as a hidden gift to Tharoor.
On April 11, 2010, Modi tweeted the names of the stakeholders in the Kochi team franchise, which included Sunanda Pushkar, whose 'sweat equity' in the franchise was estimated at Rs 70 crore.
Sweat equity shares are equity shares issued by a company to its employees or directors at a discount, or as a consideration for providing know-how or a similar value to the company.
Modi's revelations on Twitter were in violation of the Indian cricket board's confidentiality agreement, which does not allow the names of stakeholders in any franchise to be revealed.
A day later, in response to a letter from the cricket board president, Shashank Manohar, Modi also alleged that Tharoor had pressured him to stay away from the financial details of Pushkar.
Opposition politicians then demanded Tharoor resign, but he initially defended himself, saying there was no reason for the investors to bribe him as his ministry had nothing to do with the league, and he had no way of influencing the auction.
Tharoor met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and senior Congress leaders to tell his side of the story, but then resigned on April 19, ending a week of controversy.
Though Pushkar announced that she would resign from her position on the team and give up her stake in the Kochi franchise, she retained her holdings after the cricket board told her that there was no provision in the IPL rules for surrendering shares.
On April 26, the Indian cricket board suspended Lalit Modi. The board's suspension notice contained charges of financial irregularities while running the IPL and improper practices during the auction of two new teams for the 2010 edition of the tournament, one of which was Kochi Tuskers Kerala. Modi was in 2013 banned for life from the Indian cricket board over the same charges.
Four months after Modi's suspension, in August 2010, Tharoor and Pushkar got married. Tharoor became the minister of state for human resource development after a Cabinet reshuffle in 2012.
"I took upon myself the crimes of this man during IPL [Indian Premier League]," she told the Economic Times. "I will not allow this to be done to me. I just can't tolerate this."
Pushkar also confirmed to the reporter that it was she who had had been posting controversial Twitter messages on her husband's account that had allegedly been sent to him in private by a Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar. Pushkar claimed that the journalist had been stalking her husband. Tharoor is the minister of state for human resource development.
After his wife's death in Delhi’s Hotel Leela on Friday, Tharoor called for an investigation and pledged his support to it, hoping to clear the speculation about him and his wife.
The controversy about irregularities in the ownership of Kochi Tuskers Kerala, a now-defunct team of the Indian Premier League, had forced Tharoor to resign his position as India's minister of state for external affairs minister in 2010.
That controversy had also been set off by Twitter. In March 2010, a group of investors made a successful bid of more than $330 million to bring a team to Kochi, in Kerala. They had approached Tharoor earlier for guidance about bringing a team to the state, since he represents its capital city, Thiruvananthapuram, in parliament.
Lalit Modi, who was then the IPL's chief, later questioned why a 25 per cent share in the franchise was given to a group that included Sunanda Pushkar, who was not yet married to Tharoor at that point. Modi alleged that Pushkar's shares were really intended as a hidden gift to Tharoor.
On April 11, 2010, Modi tweeted the names of the stakeholders in the Kochi team franchise, which included Sunanda Pushkar, whose 'sweat equity' in the franchise was estimated at Rs 70 crore.
Sweat equity shares are equity shares issued by a company to its employees or directors at a discount, or as a consideration for providing know-how or a similar value to the company.
Modi's revelations on Twitter were in violation of the Indian cricket board's confidentiality agreement, which does not allow the names of stakeholders in any franchise to be revealed.
A day later, in response to a letter from the cricket board president, Shashank Manohar, Modi also alleged that Tharoor had pressured him to stay away from the financial details of Pushkar.
Opposition politicians then demanded Tharoor resign, but he initially defended himself, saying there was no reason for the investors to bribe him as his ministry had nothing to do with the league, and he had no way of influencing the auction.
Tharoor met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and senior Congress leaders to tell his side of the story, but then resigned on April 19, ending a week of controversy.
Though Pushkar announced that she would resign from her position on the team and give up her stake in the Kochi franchise, she retained her holdings after the cricket board told her that there was no provision in the IPL rules for surrendering shares.
On April 26, the Indian cricket board suspended Lalit Modi. The board's suspension notice contained charges of financial irregularities while running the IPL and improper practices during the auction of two new teams for the 2010 edition of the tournament, one of which was Kochi Tuskers Kerala. Modi was in 2013 banned for life from the Indian cricket board over the same charges.
Four months after Modi's suspension, in August 2010, Tharoor and Pushkar got married. Tharoor became the minister of state for human resource development after a Cabinet reshuffle in 2012.
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