NEW DELHI: In the wake of the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan, the Home Ministry appears to be in no mood to leave anything to chance regarding security arrangements for the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket matches.
The IPL tournament, which begins on April 10, also coincides with the Lok Sabha elections, and Home Minister P. Chidambaram has indicated that IPL should consider postponing the matches as agencies had suggested that it would not be possible to provide the required security for the matches.
“We have been in touch. They [IPL] will come back to us,” Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta told reporters here on Wednesday. For the general elections, the Ministry would need to mobilise about 600 to 700 companies of Central Para-Military Forces. Both Eastern and Western borders also need heightened vigil in view of the situation in Bangladesh and Pakistan.
The elections are due to begin on April 16 and go on till May 13.
IPL commissioner Lalit Modi has also indicated that a review of the dates was on.
The former BCCI president, Sharad Pawar, said security for the IPL matches was not a cause for worry but the government’s view on the matter should be taken into account by the organisers.
“I do not think in India one should worry [about security] like Pakistan. I don’t think that type of situation is here. Our security forces are quite competent and the public is alert,” Mr. Pawar, Agriculture Minister, told reporters here.
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