Governing Council meeting as per schedule: BCCI sources

New Delhi, Apr 24 (PTI) The Board of Control for Cricket
in India (BCCI) top brass is in no mood to consider embattled
IPL commissioner Lalit Modi's plea to defer the Governing
Council meeting by five days and made it clear that it will go
ahead as per schedule.
The BCCI has already told Modi that it would not change
the date of the meeting as allegations of financial
irregularities and the entire controversies related to IPL
were far too serious to differ the meeting any further.
Modi had on Saturday sought five days time to prepare
himself for the Governing Council meeting which is expected to
take a hard stand and even press for his removal.
"I need to prepare the documents to support my replies to
all the questions... I have worked for you (BCCI) for five
long years without taking any money... consider giving me just
five days for the documents," Modi had said.
A top BCCI source said that there was no question of
postponing the meeting and it was upto Modi to attend or not.
"Modi can come to the meeting and plead his case. If he
doesn't have the relevant documents to defend himself, he can
tell the Governing Council members at the meeting. We know he
has been busy with IPL but that doesn't mean he cannot even
attend the meeting," the source said.
"It is better for him to come to the meeting and explain
his stand rather than keeping it. If he has nothing to hide
why is he seeking five days time," the source said.
The "Anti-Modi" mood within the BCCI is quite clear with
the entire top brass and most of the Governing Council member
boycotting the award function in Mumbai last night. The BCCI
officials are also planning to skip the IPL final on Sunday.
There have been unconfirmed reports that former BCCI
president and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad
Pawar has asked the BCCI president Shashank Manohar to give
Modi some time to defend himself by postponing the meeting by
five days. But no BCCI official confirmed the development.
Modi's decision not to move court, questioning the
validity of the April 26 meeting has also raised speculation
that a compromise formula is being worked out. But with the
mounting pressure of BCCI to take a hard stand and clean up
the entire IPL mess would make it tough for Modi to find an
escape route this time around.
Pawar is expected to meet the top brass of BCCI in Mumbai
on Saturday to take stock of the situation in the wake of the
raging controversy. The top BCCI officials will also apprise
him of the steps that they are contemplating to restore their
image.
Modi has already been sent feelers to step down
voluntarily from the post of IPL commissioner and chairman to
tide over the crisis but in case he refuses to do so, BCCI may
be forced to pass a resolution and oust him. MORE PTI