Bring BCCI under the RTI | Kirti Azad
Is the Board of Control for Cricket in India greater than the government? Is it above the law and the Constitution? I have been repeatedly posing these questions in the media and from public forums because the BCCI and its administrators have been tarnishing the image of the country and getting away for years.
For the current imbroglio, I would blame the bunch of politicians who are hand-in-glove with the BCCI. They seem bent on making the BCCI the next Indian Olympic Association (IOA). We know IOA is in shambles due to political interference and now the same is happening with the BCCI.
There is a “united front” of politicians, cutting across party lines, which controls Indian cricket because of the huge money involved. Those politicians are at each others’ throats in Parliament, they can’t work together to try and control the country’s inflation, and don’t have the desire to develop the nation. But they are allies when it comes to BCCI matters.
How long can they continue to cheat the public? When former sports minister Ajay Maken submitted a bill in 2011 with a view to bring the cricket board under the ambit of the Right to Information Act, senior ministers associated with the BCCI opposed the move. As a first step in the cleansing operation, the government has to intervene and the BCCI should be immediately brought under the RTI.
There is no other way. If the BCCI claims its accounts are audited, why does it hesitate to come under the RTI? As a result of lack of transparency, the BCCI has evaded tax, violated Reserve Bank of India norms and breached Foreign Exchange Management Act. As many as 44 notices have been served to the BCCI for financial irregularities.
The pliant state cricket associations back the BCCI chief as they are in it together. Mismanagement of funds the BCCI disburses every year is built into the system. At least six state associations are battling charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Not long ago, the Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association found itself in a huge controversy, with `50 crore missing from its accounts. Obviously, these associations cannot think of opposing the BCCI president. Something similar happened to the National Cricket Academy that was looking to buy land in Bengaluru.
Consider this hypothetical situation: If India’s Rashtrapati is involved in a scandal, is there a provision for him to “step aside” until the investigation concludes? Such strange things can take place only in the BCCI.
It’s baffling to see N. Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan getting a clean chit from Ravi Sawani, the BCCI’s oneman probe committee, as well as the two-member commission of inquiry of retired high court judges.
But the former official of the Chennai Super Kings figures prominently in the Mumbai police’s chargesheet.Whenever something serious happens, players get penalised, but officials who clear them walk free.
The BCCI selects players to represent India, and it uses the country's flag and anthem. It discharges functions that are normally carried out by a sovereign state. Yet, it refuses to play by the rules. Who has given it such privileges?
(As told to C. Santhosh Kumar) The writer is a former Test cricketer and BJP MP
No political interference, please: Erapalli Prasanna

No political interference, please: Erapalli Prasanna
An attack by a microscopic virus is troubling the Board of Control for Cricket in India, but this does not mean that the government should take over an organisation that has become a powerhouse in world cricket.
The talk about spot-fixing and betting will never end, no matter who is in power. In the case of the BCCI and its administration, the problem is that of family feud. The questions tormenting the BCCI administration should be resolved within the four walls of the board.
The men who matter there are wise enough not to let others put question marks over the future of a body that has put Indian cricket on the world map. In terms of finances, the BCCI is not facing any problem.
It has given players around the country the best possible facilities in the world and the players have responded in the best possible manner. As a cricketing nation, we have won the 50-over and the 20-over World Cups.
The board has been running the game well. Then why should there be any talk of the need for the government to take control? It isn’t a sick unit. If it isn’t broke, why fix it?
The credibility of cricket in India had taken a beating because of a few who betrayed the noble principles of the game during the last Indian Premier League. It’s not just the players but also few administrators as well who networked with bookies to make a quick buck.
The BCCI has slapped life bans on super-brats S. Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan for their involvement in the spot-fixing scandal. It didn’t end there. Player-turned-bookie Amit Singh has been handed a five-year ban. Siddharth Trivedi was given a one-year ban for not reporting an approach by bookies. In the betting case the law has started taking its course.
What else could the board do to check corruption? Educate cricketers, people often say. Well, had these banned players grasped the lessons they were taught on fixing they would not have figured on the front page of newspapers.
If “Plan A“ doesn't work, then go to “Plan B“. The verdict is clear -if you are caught fixing, you will be fixed. The board has hit the nail on the head. Money lures youngsters into wrong deeds, but from now on all will know the consequences.
It's hard to put a lid on every bad deed. People may be ambitious about higher earnings, but you can't go over to the wrong side of the road to earn a quick buck. For now, the BCCI has got its act right with regard to handling the men who had been caught red-handed.
Cricketers need to think twice before letting themselves, and the game, down again. The fixing saga shall peter out eventually and the justice will prevail, and the board will ensure that cricket in India is played clean and taken to the highest level. There is no need for the government -that doesn't understand or know about the sport -to enter the fray and threaten a takeover of a sports body.
(As told to S. Bagawati Prasad) The writer is a former Test spinner and a retired engineer.