Lalit Modi Was Advised by Sharad Pawar to Return to India and Face the Law
Sharad Pawar, a former president of BCCI, said he had offered to speak to the Indian government if Lalit Modi wanted to return to the country.
- Press Trust of India
- Updated: June 18, 2015 12:59 pm IST
NCP chief Sharad Pawar tried to convince Lalit Modi to return to India and "face the law" during a meeting in London in May but the fugitive former IPL boss said he faced "threat to his life" if he came back.(Pawar Remains MCA President)
"I met Lalit Modi in London around mid-May this year and asked him to return to India to face the law. He said He was not worried about cases filed against him but was facing a security threat and expressed concern over the threat to his life. Earlier, I had been told by an official about security threat to Lalit Modi," Pawar told reporters on Wednesday. Pawar, a former president of BCCI, said he had offered to speak to the Indian government if Lalit Modi wanted to return to the country.(Modi Admits Closeness to Sushma Swaraj, Vasundhara Raje)
A TV channel, which had interviewed Modi on Tuesday, in the eye of a raging political storm over assistance extended to him by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in obtaining travel papers in the UK, had quoted him having said he was also helped by NCP leaders Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel.(Modi to be Slapped With Penalty Notice by ED)
Asked to comment on the row, Pawar said, "The issue is being unneccessarily exaggerated." On Congress' unsparing attack on the government following the controversy, the veteran NCP leader said the opposition party has got an issue on its hand so it is speaking about it.