Government is "watching very carefully" the affairs of the Indian Premier League and it is time the cricket board BCCI is made accountable to the country, Sports and Youth Affairs Minister M S Gill said on Thursday .
"IPL is under radar, we are watching very carefully. Its affairs are being looked into with great details," Gill said in the Rajya Sabha, winding up a debate on the working of his ministry. Charging the BCCI with taking over "everything" to do with cricket after it got rich in the last 10-15 years, he said it is time the board "answers to India".
He questioned the tax exemptions given to BCCI, one of the richest sports bodies in the world, saying "there should be no let off for any body". State governments are also giving away tax sops on different cricket events.
Gill said the BCCI could not be a regulator as also owner of the Indian team as there was a conflict of interest. During the debate, members from both sides came down heavily on the IPL.
Jayanthi Natarajan (Cong) said IPL has given birth to "crony capitalism and worst corporate governance" and demanded that it should have been under the sports ministry.
She said BCCI gets huge tax exemption and has no accountability, responsibility or transparency. "We should not allow vested interests to continue," she said.
Shiv Sena member Manohar Joshi demanded a ban on IPL for three years and a CBI probe against IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi who, he alleged, has earned crores of rupees in the tournaments. PTI
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