SUBHASH CHANDRA AGRAWAL
(Guinness Record Holder & RTI Activist)
Delhi Police deserves all compliments for exposing match-fixing in Indian Premier League (IPL). Role of black money in auction of cricketers in crores of rupees for IPL should also be probed. But all such corrupt-practices cannot be possible without knowledge of those controlling cricket-bodies in India. To have effective check on corrupt practices in Indian cricket, all BCCI and other state-level cricket-associations may be declared public-authority under RTI Act so that not only government but media and members of public may also act as effective watchdog on cricket-bodies and heavyweights controlling these cricket-bodies. It will also check heavyweight politicians even without knowing A-B-C of cricket controlling cricket-bodies with members and office-bearers being selected by democratic process rather than proxy-votes of members made by office-bearers through personal relations.
Otherwise also money earned through cricket is national money generated out of public-craze for this game, and this money should be used for public-welfare schemes rather than distributing like freebies to cricketers for their instant show in selected matches/tournaments. Our cricketers are otherwise also earning huge money through advertisements, normal match-fees and now proven match-fixing. BCCI and IPL should be made autonomous public-sector companies accountable to Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) of India, and answerable as public-authority under Right-To-Information (RTI) Act also because these get enormous public-resources like land, security etc highly subsidized and/or nil costs.
Like private-hospitals cut a large chunk of doctors’ fees for their visits to hospitals, Union Sports Ministry with a control on IPL and BCCI as autonomous public-sector companies, should deduct at least 60-percent of auction and award money from cricketers’ accounts. Accumulation of wealth in selected hands (like cricketers) earned by a national public craze is not proper especially in a country where farmers are committing suicides for want of money.
