N. Srinivasan Takes Anurag Thakur to Court, Adds to Bitterness in BCCI's Power Politics
N. Srinivasan has filed a plea in Supreme Court seeking action against BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur for making false affidavit under oath in court. The ex-Board president has involved PM Narendra Modi too in his appeal.
© PTI
It's really getting bitter out there as N. Srinivasan is fighting the current Board of Control for Cricket in India management tooth and nail for his existence in cricket administration. The former BCCI president, on Tuesday, moved the Supreme Court seeking criminal prosecution against Board secretary Anurag Thakur for filing "false affidavit" and making "plethora of misleading" statement in court.
Srinivasan is seemingly losing his footing in Indian cricket administration. The beleaguered ex-president, snubbed by the Supreme Court for conflict of interest issues, is currently the chairman of International Cricket Council. He could lose this position if the BCCI withdraws him after a new president is elected at the Board's special general meeting in Mumbai on October 4.
In his plea, Srinivasan has not only brought charges of perjury against Thakur but also involved Prime Minister Narendra Modi for endorsing the controversial 6.2.4 clause that allowed BCCI officials to have commercial interests in IPL and the Champions League T20. The clause was amended in 2008 when Modi was the president of Gujarat Cricket Association.
As things stand now, BCCI is set to elect Shashank Manohar as the new president following the death of Jagmohan Dalmiya on September 20. Manohar, a man of few words, had slammed Srinivasan for his role in the 2013 IPL betting and fixing scandal. If the Nagpur lawyer gets his second innings as BCCI president till 2017, it will be bad news for Srinivasan.
Manohar has the backing of two powerful lobbies in Indian cricket. He is supported by the Sharad Pawar group and enjoys the blessing of BJP minister Arun Jaitley, whose fondness for the young Thakur is well known. The slew of court cases is only adding to the bitterness in an already fractured BCCI.
© AFP
Srinivasan's charges against Thakur are serious in nature. Among other allegations, the Tamil Nadu strongman said he neither "barged into" nor "insisted upon" attending the BCCI's working committee meeting in Kolkata on August 28. He submitted affidavits from BCCI treasurer Anirudh Choudhary, vice-president TC Mathew and joint secretary of Kerala Cricket Association Jayesh George that said Srinivasan was already seated when the meeting began, and that nobody had objected to his presence.
Srinivasan has also countered that the amendment in clause 6.2.4 was never made to accommodate his interest in Chennai Super Kings.
"While the records of the BCCI show the reasons for amendments to be unrelated to personal interests of the applicant or that of the interest of India Cements Ltd, to say that amendment was to benefit the applicant would be an egregious lie," said Srinivasan, who added that Thakur was present when the amendment was allowed in 2008.
Irrespective of the outcome of the plea -- the guilty could face imprisonment up to a maximum of seven year - the latest Srinivasan case only highlights how quickly equations change in quest for power in Indian cricket administration. The 'cozy club' culture enjoyed by the BCCI mandarins has only showed Indian cricket in poor light.