'This move will ruin India's reputation'
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused the Central government of failing to retain Twenty20 Indian Premier League (IPL) in the country and damaging India’s reputation.
“This decision of the government sitting in Delhi is a huge loss to the country. This will ruin India’s image before the world,” Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi said.
He was speaking after the Indian cricket board announced on Sunday that the IPL would be moved abroad because state governments have expressed their inability to provide security to the tournament, which coincides with General Elections.
“The government’s decision means India is not a safe place for cricket and it cannot guarantee security. I want to ask the Central government if it can’t ensure the security of 11 cricketers then how can it protect 111 crore Indians,” he said.
Modi, a senior BJP leader, claimed his government had told IPL organisers that the state was capable of providing them security during elections.
The Chief Minister alleged the Central government’s inability to provide security to IPL proved its failure against terrorism. “We should not bow before terrorism. Today the world considers Pakistan to be an unsafe country. The Indian government has declared us as unsafe and a country like Pakistan,” he claimed.
BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley, a cricket administrator, told reporters in Delhi that the decision to shift the second edition of the Twenty20 tournament would put India on par with countries like Pakistan that are deemed unsafe for international sporting events.
"The government must seriously reconsider ... and adopt a more responsible stand in national interests," said Jaitley, who is also president of the Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA). "India is safe, that must be the stand of the government."
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) met in Mumbai on Sunday and decided to shift the second edition of IPL out of the country after authorities said they would not be able to provide security as the tournament clashes with the April-May general elections.
The BCCI took the decision after days of speculation about the tournament that was originally set to take place April 10 to May 23 before the Lok Sabha elections were announced in April-May.
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