View from the right: Clean Up Cricket

The Organiser expresses surprise that “the key names involved in the creation of [the] IPL are not mentioned in the discussion.

At a time when cricket has provided the backdrop to a political storm, the Organiser, instead of taking a position vis-a-vis the developments, has come out with an editorial called “Cleaning the mess in cricket”. It makes a forceful appeal to all parties to make the BCCI’s functioning transparent. The editorial cites a sentence from a Supreme Court judgment on the IPL spot-fixing scandal at the outset: “BCCI must ensure institutional integrity in the conduct of [the] game considering the expectations of millions of viewers.”

The Organiser says that “there are larger questions” that need to be addressed with regard to “the integrity in sports rather than taking on certain individuals.” The “real change” started taking place in the late-1980s and 1990s, “with the commercialisation of the sport” and “growing revenues through television broadcasting rights.” It goes on to claim that “it was Modi who built the business model of [the] IPL,” adding that the “NBA of the US and football leagues of Europe were role models…” Moreover, “In 2008 when the first edition of IPL was played, then itself it was obvious that it is something beyond cricket. The tournament, with [its] high entertainment value and glamour, obviously attracted [a] lot of money through various means. In the process, equity of stakes for franchise was not ensured as in the case of the NBA. That resulted in unfair means being used… For instance, why broadcasting rights were shifted from Sony to Nimbus, ifit was just a business consideration or something else, is still not clear.” This calls for a “thorough investigation in the business transactions held in the name of [the] IPL.”

While observing that “the main scandal took place under the previous regime”, the Organiser expresses surprise that “the key names involved in the creation of [the] IPL, like Sharad Pawar and N. Srinivasan, are not mentioned in the discussion.” The present controversy, in its view, “has provided [a] golden opportunity for all political parties to clean [up] the mess in cricket” once and for all.

Love For Israel

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The BJP has always been a great admirer of Israel. It’s not surprising, therefore, that the new regime at the Centre has warmed up to Israel, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled to visit Israel later this year.

“Israel and the Jews” is the headline of an opinion piece by Rajnikant Puranik in the Organiser. Describing Israel as a “great nation”, the article addresses a key controversy about the Jewish nation. “There are some who argue that since the Jews were most harassed in Europe and the Holocaust was caused by Hitler’s Germany, Israel should have been created in Europe rather than in the Middle East.” Then comes the answer: “Well, the Jews have been at the receiving end of the Muslims too for centuries. Besides, the area of Israel and the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and Jerusalem is truly the Biblical area of the Jews, where all their holy places exist. So, locating Israel where it is currently located was fully justified.”

Thereafter, it goes a step further and says that “considering what the Christians and the Europeans did to the Jews through the centuries, there should have been an additional second Israel carved out for them in Europe.” That goes to show how much affection the Sangh Parivar has for Israel.