Journalism of Courage
Against the backdrop of the furore surrounding the Indian Premier League IPL,Sports Minister M S Gill today said like democracy,all sports should have 8220;openness and free debate in decision-making8221;.
8220;India is a fiercely democratic country in which open and free debate and discussion takes place in decision making.
This applies to all the things including sports,8221; he told reporters outside Parliament here.
On suggestions to nationalise IPL and cricket,Gill said 8220;it is a strange word and a phrase used by someone else.8221;
When asked about the necessity to clean IPL and cricket,he said,8221;Democracy is like a sunflower,which needs a lot of sunshine. I think that applies to sports also.8221;
On whether politicians involved in sporting bodies were misusing their powers,he said 8220;there was no need to say anything.8221;
The Minister,however,reiterated his various suggestions about Olympic sports,which included a clear knowledge about the voter list acceptable to the states which represent,a Returning Officer who is independent of the IOA or the federation and secret ballot.
8220;You know they don8217;t have it. My attitude applies to all of them. I was a cricketer once upon a time8230;let8217;s see what happens,8221; he said.
The IPL is facing allegations of financial irregularities and is being probed by the Income Tax department. The event8217;s Commissioner and Chairman Lalit Modi is under tremendous pressure to quit his post due to the raging controversy.
