Is Lalit Modi India's Julian Assange?

Is 49-year old businessman and tainted former Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi turning into India's Julian Assange? Like the Australian computer programmer-turned-journalist who founded WikiLeaks, the absconding cricket manager has launched an offensive on his Twitter account, sparing nobody and earning the sobriquet of "LalitLeaks", exposing the country's political and business class. Though, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje are facing a political storm for extending favours to him, Modi has kept politicians across the divide on tenterhooks. His posts hint at exposures pertaining to Congress party's Rajiv Shukla, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Karti Chidambaram or National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, DMK's Karunanidhi or even finance minister Arun Jaitley. Modi says that 100 politicians in his books enjoyed IPL hospitality in box seats that would usually cost between Rs 50,000 and Rs 3 lakh.

A grandson of Rai Bahadur Gujarmal Modi, pushed to the wall, he has taken up the cudgels to expose corruption. He has put up a photograph of Jawaharlal Nehru with his grandfather at his house in Modinagar in Uttar Pradesh. He has invited people to email him about corruption. "I urge everyone immediately to send me email on anything you have on corruption to corruptpoliticiansinindia@gmail.com."

His warning to the corrupt is: "So all those, who are on a witch hunt--time to know you all live in a glass house. By the way I document every meeting when someone asks for a bribe and I circulate it to my lawyers xyz... Off course I never paid. But, record I did."

"Slowly, I will start to bury this so called BCCI/FM/mafia. Time is on my side," he wrote in one of the tweets, adding, "Series. What is the hurry? Abhi picture baki hai. Giving all at once will not be right. This will keep you gripped....Names I will give. Giving them a chance to declare themselves to media and ministry."

Creating an embarrassing situation for the BJP, so much so, that it has now been nicknamed UPA-III, he has also named many in the Congress and has warned politicos and bureaucrats.

Responding to one follower who asked him: "how did @ShuklaRajiv turn into a multimillionaire after being a lowly reporter in a Kanpur daily", Modi said: "Will anyone dare to investigate. Also do you know cricket association is now a private company. Guess, who is its shareholder?"

A tweet tries to attack president Pranab Mukherjee's secretary Omita Paul: "The biggest hawala operator is #vivek #nagpal also best known as #omita #pauls #bagman. Lots of data on him. Does anyone care to investigate him. no. Why? He has friends in the highest places. Media is mostly blind. Follow my lead and see...."

To prove his point, he has uploaded a 100-page document detailing business dealings of Vivek Nagpal, the favours extended to him by the government, his connections with at least five top bureaucrats.

"Are you aware of a major Swiss bank that has an ex-commissioner of income tax as its MD and his wife is still commissioner of I-T in-charge of money laundering," Modi posted.

Modi said the government should find the (Swiss) bank and the finance minister should ensure he gets them to part with all information on Indians having accounts in this particular bank.

Modi claimed several bureaucrats, including I-T and ED officials, had accounts in this bank. He mentioned how two Noida-based brothers reached their peak, one in ED and the other in the I-T department. He exhorted his followers, who were blackmailed by them to share their information with him.

"While we are cleaning up, let's not leave the babus who have been quietly siphoning off (black money) or blackmailing all of us like the ED and I-T departments," Modi posted in another tweet.

"Will #media please investigate the role of @arunjaitley & @sonalijaitley - their association with #hockey league. PSU sponsors, team owners....My Q to @arunjaitley - how come you allowed one owner to have two teams. How come PSU is a key sponsor of hockey league which u are owner and director of. How come Mrs Jaitley is lawyer to the hockey league. India wants to know."

On match fixing, he tweeted: "Birds of a feather stick together: 1congress another BJP...#beware #conflictofinterest @arunjaitley @shuklarajiv. "Wait for daily updates. Time to clean up this mess."

Another tweet reads: "Bureaucrats #public #servants please also declare if you have taken any favours, hospitality cash etc from #modi family in the past."

"You all know what data I have. So best to put in public domain. India deserves to know. My further advice to all #Govt #babus who have taken ANY help, favours, gifts, money or met me. please declare to media ASAP. Or from 2 other businessmen."

In another tweet on the charge of hawala on him, Modi wrote: "Start looking at major housing development projects in India. See the buyers. Check market price vs what's paid. Eye opening hawala racket."

"Follow my lead and see. Find the bank and FM should ensure he gets them to part all info of every Indian with them. Surprisingly you will find all the IT/Govt servants/ED accounts there. But will u. I doubt it. Go after the real money launderers. Look in the right direction instead of going after someone who only gave to his country and created a life changing product called IPL and Rs 47,600 crore."

Modi also put on his own website lalitmodi.com the status of 16 show cause notices issued to him with his replies to all to clear his name and referred to it in many tweets. "FOR THE MISINFORMED MEDIA: STATUS ON 16 SHOW CAUSE NOTICES: ALL COMPLETELY REPLIED. All enlisted. A summary...All those who care to know the truth of what I did and did not just log on to my website... Contrary to media reports, I filed my reply on merits to each of the show cause notices issued by the #ED. Pl check lalitmodi.com"

On the media reports on his lavish lifestyle, Modi tweets: "Indian media want to know rightfully so how I run my lifestyle -- you do your research before...below few of them (with picture of some of his products). "Yes I #livelifekingsize and why not. I do it on my own money. My business has no govt contracts or favour - dailyo.in/politics/lalit...