Don't ban SRK: Lalu, Mamata; keep it cool: Farooq

With the Indian Premier League hit by controversies, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Friday demanded that the tournament should be closed down.

"The IPL should be closed," he told reporters outside Parliament House when asked to react on the spat between actor and Kolkata Knight Riders owner Shah Rukh Khan and the Mumbai Cricket Association officials and other controversies surrounding the game.

On the Shah Rukh Khan episode, he alleged that the policemen, who were present when the scuffle broke out between the Bollywood star and MCA officials, were working at the behest of certain political parties.

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"All this was done in hatred. He should not be banned," Yadav alleged.

The Mumbai Cricket Association on Friday banned Kolkata Knight Riders co owner and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan from entering the Wankhede Stadium for five years for misbehaving with its officials and violating its rules.

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee too came out in support of the actor. She on Friday appealed to the MCA to revoke the ban.

Terming as "unfortunate" the spat, Union Minister Farooq Abdullah advised the Bollywood superstar to be a "little more calmer".

"He carries a lot of weight on his shoulders. His behaviour matters to the industry tremendously, and to every young and old in India. Whatever happened, its unfortunate," he told reporter outside the Parliament.

Abdullah said Khan should be "little more calmer".

"I hope that his temper will calm down. As far as the BCCI action or the Wankhede Stadium is concerned, I think they should sit down and find a middle way out," he said.

On arrest of Royal Challengers Bangalore cricketer Luke Pomersbach on charges of molestation, Abdullah said, "Action must be taken against them. So that it becomes a thing for all the world to see that India means business, and India is not going to tolerate such behaviour from anybody."

Asked whether such things bring a bad name for IPL, Abdullah said, "It gives the nation a bad name. The IPL is only a small thing."

Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy also demanded a ban on IPL, alleging that the "civilised game" of cricket has been degenerated into a "vulgar" display of money and immorality leading to national security threat.

In a statement, Swamy said the ban could be lifted after barring from the management or ownership of teams all persons
actively involved in the cinema world or who hold an elected office in politics. "I demand that the government ban the IPL tournament forthwith since game's collateral consequences are a degeneration of a civilised game of cricket into a vulgar display of money, immorality, all converting into a serious national security threat," he said.

"The recent incident of vulgar, unruly, rowdy behaviour of some of the players, owners and politicians make it
necessary to impose this ban for a brief period," he said.

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