Published: Jul 01, 2016, 05:43 PM (IST)
Edited: Jul 01, 2016, 05:43 PM (IST)
State cricket associations like DDCA and Goa Cricket Association (GCA) have been in trouble for past few months, the recent one being GCA’a Chetan Dessai being locked up for financial scam. When Supreme Court before the BCCI verdict could be revealed, some shocking revelations were made regarding the state associations. Last week the GCA officials were arrested for the scams based on the verdict in the court. It was an eerily familiar story to seven months ago, when a three-member committee, set up by the Delhi government to probe into the allegations of corruption within the DDCA, recommended that the BCCI suspend the association. ALSO READ: GCA fraud case: Narvekar questioned by police
A lot of state associations are under scrutiny due to fund mismanagement and corruption and few more points that were pointed out towards Supreme Court on Thursday. Senior Advocate Gopal Subramaniam spoke to sportscafe.in and said, “It is like standing outside the Regal Cinema hoping someone inside can send out a ticket.” He also highlighted on how children are unable to enter cricket stadiums for matches, while privileged exploit the ‘pass’ system, reported the Hindu.
He also argued on how the Lodha recommendations are wake up call for BCCI, “They [BCCI] have done a lot for the game, but the future is at stake. This effort is not to tarnish or truncate their image, but there must be some standardization of procedure, some spell-check. But look at the incident in Goa and even in Delhi. The DDCA has 9,000 members and the office-bearers have included their drivers and cooks as members. Shockingly, a single 48 square feet house in Shakoor Basti is registered as the address of as many as 14 members.”
Meanwhile, Supreme Court also pointed out on some points from Lodha’s recommendations. The apex court bench, which compromised of Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justice Fakkir Mohamed Ibrahim Kalifulla, questioned the panel’s recommendations of one state one vote, limit on the tenure of the office-bearers, and presence of a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) nominee on the BCCI Board. ALSO READ: GCA fraud case: BCCI demands 5 days time
“We are not reviewing any decision of the BCCI. Say if they are selecting a team, whether they should have a fast bowler or a spinner. We are not going to step in there.” He also added that politicians could be part of BCCI and voting will take place accordingly, “Politicians could always be there in their individual capacity. Whether one is a bureaucrat or a politician, so long he is elected according to rules, there can be no bar.”
Supreme Court also questioned on BCCI requesting to know how the member associations are spending the funds, “Why did you not require (this) earlier. Why should you stop aid to the game, simply because some thieves have misused the funds. Stopping aid is no answer. Whether you have asked the auditors to conduct a performance audit of funds flowing from BCCI to the State cricket associations,” the bench asked the BCCI, reported IANS.
