No longer the Raja of Rajasthan Royals, Kundra denies all allegations

Raj proclaims innocence amidst betting charges

The Rajasthan Royals co-owner, Raj Kundra, who has been charged with illegally betting on matches denied all the charges against him in an interview conducted recently by India Today.

The tribunal headed by the former chief justice Rajendra Mal Lodha found him and the owner of Chennai Super Kings, Gurunath Meiyappan, guilty of gambling on their matches.

Kundra maintained his innocence and said that he would never contemplate betting on a cricket match. In his opinion, the IPL fraud was a conspiracy set to trap him.

Read: Lodha Committee recommends two-year bans on Rajasthan, Chennai in IPL scandal

He insisted on making the Mudgal report transparent to the people.

"I have the right to see the evidence. I want the report to be made public so that the people can see it and decide for themselves," he said.

"I have not received till date a copy of their final report in which sweeping conclusions were recorded against me. Even the fact that neither the Delhi police nor Rajasthan police found any actionable case against me (for the obvious reasons that there was no evidence or material against me) has been used to make insinuations regarding my guilt for an act I never did," he added.

He denied any part in the corrupt activities by saying, “Lodha panel has been set up only to give the quantum of punishment but not to say whether I am not guilty or not."

The co-owner of the Rajasthan franchise advocated the legalisation of betting in the nation.Kundra said he did not want to be associated with the title of ‘bad boy of cricket.’

He said, "When there is so much black money involved in betting, it would be ideal to legalise it in India. Let the money come to the government."

He vehemently rejected the participation of his wife, famous Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, in the issue, stating that she was only an IPL club enthusiast.

For the complete interview click here