Money to cricketers: Yeddyurappa put on notice

Even as chief minister BS Yeddyurappa went back on his initial promise of offering sites to Indian cricketers in Bangalore as a reward for winning the World Cup and offered the men in blue Rs25 lakh instead, he found himself in a muddle.

NC Mahesh, 50, a resident of  Kengeri Satellite Town, has shot off a legal notice to the chief minister, demanding to know on what basis he has showered such magnanimity on the cricketers, already so richly rewarded.

As a tax payer, Mahesh said that he was concerned that money paid by him and others like him, under such heads as income tax and road tax, was being wasted .

In a legal notice, he said that the state faces a financial crunch and is unable to implement developmental activities. Loans are being sought from the World Bank and other financial institutions for developmental activities. At a time of such severe cash crunch, how could the chief minister award Rs25 lakh to each of the cricketers?

“Under which provision of law or under what powers have you announced the payment of the largesse, when the state is reeling under financial crises?” the notice questioned. He asked Yeddyurappa to withdraw the announcement at the earliest.