Mafia figures can't decide my fate, says Lalit Modi

Former Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman and ousted Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) president Lalit Modi is unmoved by the coup and still believes he has the numbers.

In his first comments after 23 district cricket associations in Rajasthan 'removed' him as the RCA president, Modi pinned the entire blame on 'influencers like Srini'--former BCCI president N Srinivasan.

Modi has had a strained relationship with the former BCCI boss since he was sacked as IPL chief in 2010.

"I have the numbers," he told Hindustan Times from London, "and I really don't care of mafia figures trying to influence my fate."

Modi's Man Friday Mehmood Abdi, who was also removed as RCA deputy president and running the show on Modi's behalf, has already said that the Modi's ouster has been orchestrated by Srinivasan.

However, Modi is confident he will win in the end.

"Times after time, I have won everything," he said. "Time has shown I am right."

"I have created something. Rest just feeding on my growth or stealing from it," he added.

The buzz in the political circles in Rajasthan is that Amin Pathan, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader who led the rebel group, could not have done what he did on Saturday without the tacit approval from Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje, once known to be Modi's friend.

But, Modi refuses to comment on Raje's role.

Meanwhile, Modi's message to his men on the ground here is: go the legal way.

"He has told us that we should maintain the dignity of the game and not lower the discourse to tarnish the image of this gentleman's game," Abdi told HT.

"We have been here on the strength of Sports Act and the RCA bylaws and we are fighting a legal battle against the illegal meeting (on Saturday)," he added.

Earlier, Abdi met Rajasthan chief secretary and Jaipur police commissioner on Tuesday against what he called an 'encroachment' on the RCA offices.