Anurag Thakur breaks silence on perjury charge, says ‘I never lied under oath’

Anurag Thakur, who is the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, has categorically denied the perjury charges that are likely to be levelled on him by the Supreme Court.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Anurag Thakur broke his silence on the issue of perjury charges, categorically saying that there was “no question of perjury (lying under oath)”.

Anurag Thakur, who is the current president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), is likely to face perjury charges. (REUTERS)

The Supreme Court had on Thursday accused Thakur of lying under oath and threatened to initiate contempt proceedings against the Member of Parliament.

The BCCI has been engaged in a lengthy tussle with the Justice RM Lodha Panel which has issued guidelines on age tenure, conflict of interest, one-state-one-vote and other recommendations. The panel has requested the BCCI to implement these reforms immediately.

The International Cricket Council’s (ICC) chief executive officer (CEO), Dave Richardson, had alleged in September that Thakur “verbally requested” Shashank Manohar, the cricket’s world governing body chief, to write a letter to him stating that any meddling in the affairs of the Indian cricket board – including dictating terms on age, tenure and conflict of interest --- would be a breach of the BCCI’s autonomy and would amount to government interference. This would immediately invite the expulsion of the Indian board from the council.

However, on Wednesday, Thakur denied any such communication with Richardson and said he never lied to the court under oath.