Three Congress MLAs — Ashok Pattan, B.C. Patil and N.L. Narendra Babu— on Monday demanded that the government should supersede the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) alleging lack of transparency, especially in distribution of IPL tickets and complimentary passes.
“The government has always been supportive of the cause of cricket in the state and helped create infrastructure at Benga-luru, Nelamangala, Hubli, Shimoga, Raichur, Hassan and Belgaum. Even the entertainment tax has been waived. However, KSCA is not transparent in its affairs and hence we want the government to appoint an administrator,” said Mr Ashok.
“We want KSCA to provide a detailed account of the complimentary passes distributed till now. As per the norm, BCCI has allotted 20 per cent of the Stadium’s sitting capacity to KSCA – which is about 8,000 seats amounting to Rs 6-8 crore for every match. But KSCA, which has the discretion to disburse tickets is wrongly blaming the franchise – Royal Challengers Bangalore,” added Mr Pattan. Pointing out that none of the KSCA office-bearers were accessible during the matches, the MLAs added, “The president, vice president and secretary are busy with their professional commitment. In the past, we have seen untoward incidents and security threats during the matches. So, it is imperative for office-bearers to be present in the city.”