Is BCCI above the law?

Cricketer-turned-politician Kirti Azad slammed the Board of Control for Cricket in India for giving a clean chit to Chennai Super Kings Team principal Gurunath Meiyappan, Rajasthan Royals franchise and its co-owner Raj Kundra in the IPL spot-fixing and betting scandal.

The BCCI's two-member probe panel, on Sunday, cleared Meiyappan, who is the son-in-law of its president N Srinivasan, the Rajasthan Royals franchise and its co-owner Raj Kundra in the scam that rocked the IPL earlier this year.

"I don't blame (BCCI acting chief) Jagmohan Dalmiya or Srinivasan for this. The politicians are hell bent on making BCCI the next Indian Olympic Association. We have seen what happened to IOA due to political interference and now the same is happening with BCCI," Azad said on Monday.

"Mumbai police has said that the investigation is still on. Delhi police is still investigating and the BCCI panel has given them a clean chit. Is BCCI above the law and constitution of the country?" he asked.

Azad felt the BCCI should be immediately brought under the ambit of the Right to Information act.

"There is no other alternative. The government has to intervene and bring BCCI under the RTI.

"When former sports minister Ajay Maken brought the sports bill, the cabinet ministers, involved with BCCI, opposed that. If BCCI claims that they do auditing of their account, then why do they hesitate to come under RTI?" asked Azad.

"It is time to make BCCI's functioning more transparent, and it can be done through RTI," he said.

He also said it is wrong to penalise players and give clean chits to officials.

"Whenever something happens, players get penalised and officials walk free.

"It's a pity, because despite all the controversies cricket is still the most popular game in the country due to the hard work and excellent performance of players," he said.