MODI OUT, BUT WHO WILL FIX THE BIGGER MESS?

On Sunday night when Kieron Pollard was trying to play the innings of his life in the final few overs to take Mumbai Indians home, another man in the stadium was also trying everything possible in the book to save his job as the chief of IPL. But for Lalit Modi this time around all his shots had failed. The BCCI just a few minutes after the final ball was bowled at the D.Y. Patil stadium clean bowled Modi. He was e-mailed his suspension letter which effectively meant that he could not attend the bigger final on Monday- the IPL governing council meeting.

The suspension of Lalit Modi without even given a chance to offer an explanation is definitely unfair. True, the man ran the IPL like his own private business and if the
allegations against him turn out to be true then he should be tried and punished for the same. No matter how big is the crime, the accused is always given a chance to defend himself under a fair trial and even Modi deserves a chance.

But the biggest highlight of the whole series of ugly events has been the manner in which the BCCI has crucified one man for the whole IPL mess. No doubt Lalit Modi was the chief of IPL and he is the prime accused but it was not only Modi who was running the IPL. There are twelve other members on the governing council of the IPL which include the BCCI president Shashank Manohar, three strong politicians & three former Indian captains. So how can all of them be given a clean chit that too by themselves? Isn’t the BCCI president who heads the cricket board morally responsible for what has happened? Shouldn’t the whole governing council resign so that a ‘fair’ investigation can take place? Shashank Manohar said in the press conference that the reason for Modi’s suspension is to have a ‘fair’ investigation without any hindrances. Doesn’t that apply to the whole IPL governing council?

The end result- the IPL governing council remains intact minus Modi, with some of its members being promoted and given bigger responsibilities. How can this council be trusted when they failed to question the very functioning of the same IPL in the last three years? This is one of the biggest failures on the corporate governance front. The whole issue of corporate governance was raised during the ‘Satyam’ fiasco and its back to haunt us again.

The issue is not restricted to the IPL only. This issue also raises doubts on the whole functioning of the BCCI. Many would argue that BCCI is a private body and therefore is not accountable. The fact that they run the most popular sport of this nation makes it mandatory for them to be accountable to the people of this country. Because cricket is not their private property- it belongs to the whole nation which adores the sport. The BCCI is accountable to the government for the simple fact that the government has exempted BCCI to pay taxes being a private trust. The government also provides them all kinds of facilities from stadiums to police security for matches and does not charge them a penny even though it’s run by a private body. And thanks to all these exemptions, BCCI is the second richest sports body in the world with annual revenues running into billion of dollars.

And finally, why is it that Shashi Tharoor had to resign? Doesn’t that rule apply to Pawar & Patel whose names have cropped up during the last few weeks? Or will the Congress this time again stifle under coalition pressure like it did during the A Raja controversy on the telecom 2G spectrum front sometime back. The government will have to ensure that a thorough enquiry is conducted not only into the IPL but the whole functioning of BCCI. This is a golden opportunity for the government to clean the stinking corruption embedded in cricket administration which is so essential for the sport to grow. If it fails to do so then cricket would continue to remain the golden goose which will keep giving golden eggs to a handful of politicians & businessmen of this country.

THAROOR PAYS THE PRICE, BUT WILL MODI SURVIVE?

It was Modi’s in swinging yorker that saw Tharoor’s middle stump flying out of the ground. Many would term Tharoor’s resignation as a victory for Lalit Modi & the BJP. But the fact remains that this IPL (Indian Political League) like the original one is not over yet. And there can still be a twist in the Tale.

Sonia Gandhi & Dr Singh’s decision not to back Tharoor had one key element attached to it. Both didn’t want the current UPA to be linked to any form of corruption charges. Tharoor might be a bit unlucky also as probably his intention was not to make money himself but the route chosen by him to participate in the IPL frenzy has cost

him dearly. From the time reports surfaced on Tharoor’s participation in the bidding process, he was in trouble. Being a little too straightforward for Indian politics which led to him acknowledging that he was mentoring the Kochi side and never shy of roaming with his love interest in public has cost him dearly. Now a mentor can be interpreted in different ways. Similarly his proximity to Sunanda Pushkar who happens to be a stake holder in the Kochi consortium without investing a penny was something too crude to digest for Indian polity. That’s exactly what Modi & the BJP did. And with each passing day a new revelation of Tharoor’s role kept emerging.

But Congress’s larger game plan was not only to keep its track record clean but also to launch a counter attack on the BJP led opposition. Even before Pranab announced that IPL will be probed and the guilty will not be spared, the Income tax department was on the game

The reason why Tharoor lost the first round to Modi many would say is because the former was a minister; hence he was a public servant, while Modi heads a private entity and is not accountable to the public directly. But there are other reasons as well which is why Modi survived the initial attack atleast. The first advantage Modi had was that he might be close to the BJP, but he is not a BJP worker officially. So even if they attack Modi, the Congress cannot link him directly to the saffron party. Moreover Congress ally Sharad Pawar is openly backing Modi.

But with the I-T department determined to implicate Modi, this just might be the tip of the iceberg. If Modi is sacked by the BCCI or taken to task for the alleged financial mishaps within the IPL, he will not go out silently but will make the whole BCCI face the music. IPL is a subsidiary of the BCCI, so if Lalit Modi is indicted so will be the IPL and invariably the BCCI. And if that happens then we will see a Pandora’s Box being opened. And with the likes of Sharad Pawar, Arun Jaitley & Farooq Abdullah on the BCCI council, this could lead to a major political storm. Not only are politicians involved but even the big corporates are involved in the BCCI & the IPL

N.Srinivasan who is the vice-chairman of India Cements owns the Chennai Super Kings. And Mr Srinivasan also happens to be the secretary of the BCCI. K.Srikanth is the official brand ambassador of the same team and he also happens to be the chief national selector of the BCCI. So wasn’t there a conflict of interest right from the first round of bidding which happened in 2008? It’s now a direct battle between the government and the BCCI backed by politicians & strong corporates.

But in the end the biggest loser is not the political class, but the brand IPL itself. Though till now there are no signs of the audience rejecting the tournament because of the latest controversy, but IPL as a sporting brand which is becoming a global phenomenon has definitely taken a beating. A brand which has made India proud may become a tainted sporting property. And again the culprits remain the same as they have always been in the last six decades- politics, money & corruption.

RICH MINISTERS, FAILED MINISTERIES

Open sky is not the limit…Minister of state of Civil Aviation, Praful Patel must be telling himself, but not because of Air India, which is fighting for survival at the moment, but refering to his own personal business. The richest minister of the union government of India is heading the sector which on the verge of a financial collpase.

Praful Patel also runs his Rs 500-crore CeeJay Group & owns one of India’s biggest bidi and tobacco-derivatives businesses. He is also referred as the ‘Bidi King’ in certain parts of Maharshtra. On one hand his business has grown at a tremendous rate, with his revenues increasing each year substantially, and on the other national carrier, Air India which is a public sector unit is struggling to survive. The national carrier has incurred loss of over Rs 7200 crores & accumulated a ‘massive’ Rs 15,000 crores as debt. The problem is that Air India was run comfortably if not profitabily over the past so many decades. The real problem started in the 90’s when a series of irrational steps were taken by the management. But the main trigger point for the speedy downfall was the merger of Air India with the government’s domestic carrier ‘Indian Airline’. Employees in the organization blame the merger as the main cause for the abysmal financial position of Air India.Other major carriers Jet Airways & Kingfisher are also under huge debt and fighting to stay afloat. Many from the industry blame the genuise ‘businessman’ cum minister Praful Patel for not helping the sector to come out of thi mess in any way.

Sharad Pawar the union agriculture minister might be having a tough time fighting the drought that has hit the country but when it come to his own business he has been laughing away to the bank. Though on paper his assets are worth 3.6 crores, but his family has business interest in agricultural land on prime highways which if converted to non agricultural land would fetch a premium of atleast 300%!!! His family also has huge stakes in various projects build around Mumbai & his party controls 70% of the sugar factories in western Maharshtra. According to an article in ‘Covert’ magazine there is a famous joke in Maharashtra about Pawar’s wealth, which people say is enough to run 5 delhis!!!...But yet the state of agriculture is in doldrums.One cannot blame the minister for the drought but what about the steps been taken to reduce the damage. Between 2004 & 2008, from the time Sharad Pawar has been the union agriculture minister, the average number of farmer suicides per year has been 17,513. Assuming that the number will remain the same for this year as well, even though it has been a drought this year, the total number of farmer suicides would be touching 90,000!!

These are just two examples from the current union cabinet of ministers who have been super sucessful businessmen but complete failures in lifting their sectors. The idea is not to target these 2 politicians, as there are many more such names…some of them making wealth illegally. Making personal wealth is not a sin for a politician as long as that is done legitimatly. But when successful businessmen fail to lift their respective sectors as ministers, then it really leaves a big question mark on his ability to deliver.

Sharad Pawar is also the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) president in waiting and has been the successful president of the cash rich Board Control Cricket of India (BCCI). Praful Patel is also on the verge of becoming the president of the All India Football Federation of India (AIFF).Both are known for their business & administration acumen.Then why is that these two ministers have completely failed in their respective sectors???? Aviation ministry was booming 3 years back and is now on the verge of a breakdown. Patel will be blamed for some of the policies and his inabilty to help the sector to fight the crisis. Many would argue that globally the aviation sector is struggling, but then what would one say about Air India, which was atleast able to some how sustain itself till 2 years back. The merger of Air India & Indian airlines (Patel’s brainchild) was implemented against the wishes of many has proved to be a blunder. Similarly, Pawar has failed to device any kind of methods & concrete startegies to help the farmers. It would be unrealistic to completely eradicate farmer suicides in 5 years which has been an ongoing agony for years, but in the last 5 years including the ones in which the rainfall was good, Pawar has failed to bring the number of suicides down. There has been no sign of any williingness to curb this ongoing deadly financial & social virus. In fact in 2006, in the Vidarbha region, which is in his own home state of Maharashtra, 4000 farmers committed suicide. Even if 10% of the revenues which the BCCI generated in the last 5years were invested in helping the farm sector, atleast a few thousand farmers could have been saved.

It would be unfair to generalise all businessmen cum politicians in the same bracket. The Sibals, Marans have atleast proved their agility in their respective sectors.But if changes for these important portfolios are not made soon then it won’t be surprising to see the current UPA government leaving a new legacy behind in the form of ‘Union (Failed ) Minister of successful businesses & sports bodies’.

CRICKETERS V/S POLITICANS: THE POLITICS OF CRICKET

Board Cricket Control of India (BCCI) is the most potent, independent & influential sports body of India. Its influence is not restricted only to India, but across the cricket world. Therefore it’s comes as no surprise that today a plethora of politicians & cricketers are standing in the fray to be a part of this magnanimous cricket body. But their reasons are enitirely different.

Ironically, post independence there has been 21 BCCI presidents, but only 3 of them have played Ranji cricket. Till the 1980’s, politicians didn’t display much enthusiasm in cricket adminitration. Madhavrao Scindia was the only exception. It’s only in 2005 that political heavy weight, Sharad Pawar dived into the politics of cricket. Arun Jaitley (BJP) is one of the VP’s of BCCI, while Union Minister & former chief minister of Maharshtra Vilasrao Deshmukh (Congress) recently became the VP of the Maharashtra Cricket Association.

It’s only in the last decade or so that the politicans have suddenly started displaying enthusiasm in cricket administration. And why not, when there is an opportunity to control or partially control a body that earns more than 100 billion rupees a year & at the same time has the ability to influence the world of cricket in any fashion it wants. Sharad Pawar known for his shrewdness spotted this opportunity much before his other collegues. In the past 5 years he was much more effective & potent as the President of BCCI (Even after Shashank Manohar took over from him) compared to his stint as the Union Minister of Agriculture. And now every other politician wants to be associated with cricket administration. Lalu Prasad Yadav, Vilasrao Deskmukh, Arun Jaitley are just a few examples. There will be many more politicians jumping into the fray very soon. In an era of twenty 20 cricket they realize the potential of cricket as an enterprise. Power & money are two factors that are entising our politicians.

On the other hand our cricketers who have always remained apprehensive of running for the top administrative posts have also started eyeing those postions. But the reasons for them are very different. History is a testimony that post retirement irrespecive of the startdom & stature any crickter might have achieved it’s his connections with the top bosses that determines his future role in cricket. The best epitomes of this are Sunil Gavaskar & Kapil Dev. Both legends of Indian cricket played togther & enjoyed the almost same degree of success. But post retirement their stories were completely different compared to their playing days. Gavaskar has been a regular member on various committees set up by BCCI & ICC including the post of ‘chairman of the ICC cricket committee. His controvertial remarks which have rubbed other cricket nations the wrong way have not curbed the support he has enjoyed from the BCCI for all these years. On the other hand Kapil Dev never got the same kind of treatment from the BCCI post retirement.He did become the coach of the Indian cricket team in 1999 & also served as chairman of National Cricket Academy. In May 2007, Kapil joined the breakaway Indian Cricket League, which led to his removal from the NCA. But through out Kapil Dev has shared a turbulent relationship with the BCCI.

Sourav Ganguly & Mohammad Azharuddin also faced unfair treatment from the BCCI which sealed their cricket careers. Azhar was banned for life after the 3 member BCCI probe committee found him guilty of match fixing with out any concrete evidnece. Ganguly had to cut short his cricket career after been continously dropped from the squad, even after making one of the strongest comebacks in world cricket. Both cricket legends realized that the only way they can contribute meaningfully to Indian cricket is by taking the ‘political’ route.

Ganguly has made it public that he is interested in running for the post of CAB (Cricket association of Bengal) president. And if he does win, there is a chance for him to run for the post of BCCI president in 2013!!! It would be too naïve to start assuuming that Ganguly would become the BCCI president so easily, but it is a possibility if planned properly. On the other hand, Azhar who was lying low all these years after his life ban suddenly resurrected his cricket prospects by getting elected to the Lok Sabha. And look at the immediate ramifications; two members (Kamal Moraraka & KM Ramaprasad) of the BCCI probe committee that banned Azhar for life now want the life ban to be lifted. It won’t be long before the life ban is lifted given the political clout he now enjoys. And been a cricketer with the tag of a politician has made his position very strong. Probabaly the ban should have been lifted much before, but the only way to make it possible was to take the political route. Ganguly has Azhar as a prime example to plan his future.And he has already got on to the task. The battle between the politicians & cricketers is brewing. For the love of cricket, let’s hope that the cricketers win this one.