It's time BCCI is brought under the RTI act

Cricket enthusiasts may not have slept well on Saturday night, thinking what would unfold the following day. BCCI officials hinted that something significant would happen in Chennai.

But the worst fears of 1.2 billion cricket lovers came to pass as the BCCI continued to be a close knit circle of friends.

Let me elaborate on how the entire operation was carried out:
Like in hockey and football, three players were left unmarked by the media. The three musketeers chose to teleconference from Delhi, part of the BCCI’s brotherhood plan.

Earlier, word was that the Maharashtra lobby would take over. It was suggested that Shashank Manohar would be a compromise candidate should Srinivasan step down. This was a clear strategy to confuse the West lobby as to what the North was planning. The plot went a bit awry after secretary Sanjay Jagdale and treasurer Ajay Shirke resigned.

Srinivasan also had a ready excuse at the meeting had anyone demanded his resignation: why should Rajeev Shukla stay on? Wasn’t he the IPL president?
Shukla, on the other hand, had been defending Srinivasan. He suddenly realised that he could put himself on a moral high ground by stepping down. He knew that his IPL term was ending in September. This was his chance for a perfect character-projection exercise.

Wasn’t it Shukla who was constantly saying that ‘Srinivasan should step aside till the probe was over’?

The video conferencing charade was planned well in advance. Niranjan Shah and Jagmohan Dalmiya had been sounded out. It was clear that Srinivasan would not accept Shah’s candidature since he would be deemed as a west zone prop. Dalmiya was considered to be a safe bet.

It is another matter that the BCCI has no provision for interim president, and the meeting, in the absence of notice of 72 hours, was unconstitutional.
Why did they form such a cosy club despite having several top politicians among them? It’s a simple answer. There is a lot of money available in the BCCI. Why else would a busy politician spend months being associated with the IPL if it were only a gratis activity? And how can a minister in the union government work under a board president?

According to a senior journalist, a lot of these office bearers have stakes in various franchises. When Lalit Modi started to reveal it all, he was dumped.
So why does no one act against the board president?  It’s primarily because the state associations have a lot to answer. Mismanagement of funds that the BCCI disburses every year is endemic in the system.

At least six state associations are battling charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Obviously, these associations cannot think of opposing the board president. And Srinivasan, once the president of a chess federation, obviously knows his moves.

In a note dated 14/12/2011 submitted by the Union Ministry of Sports before the Central Information Commission, the government wanted the BCCI to be a public authority and come under the RTI act.

Given the sheer mockery of the board meeting in Chennai, it’s high time the Union government, through an ordinance, takes over the BCCI affairs and safeguards the money that is unsafe in the hands of a few selfish individuals.
Remember the interventions by both Union and state governments to manage Tirupati and Vaishnodevi because of the high amounts of money offered to these shrines.

The Prime Minister himself owes an answer to the country. His statement that ‘politics and sports should not get mixed up’ needs to be demonstrated on the ground.

I’m shocked at the events in Chennai. But I promise I will lead the crusade in the parliament on behalf of 1.2 billion cricket lovers. The last on this subject hasn’t been heard yet.

—The writer is a cricketer-turned-politician