Sunday, March 22, 2009

Elections score over IPL for Chidambaram

MUMBAI: Home Minister P Chidambaram said today elections were "unquestionably" the first priority for the nation, putting in doubt the fate of the second edition of the multi-million dollar Indian Premier League (IPL).

According to Chidambaram, organisers would have to be responsible for redrawing the Twenty20 tournament calendar as the states would, anyhow, not be able to compromise on the security for the elections.

In an interview with Karan Thapar on CNN-IBN, Chidambaram said, "I can't exempt any state government from giving to the Election Commission the forces which they have promised. I have also made it clear that I cannot spare any central para-military forces."

When quizzed whether he would like the IPL to pull out on their own, Chidambaram added, "They are patriotic people. I think they will take a call."

Meanwhile, the BCCI is set to hold an emergency working committee meeting in Mumbai on Sunday to take a final decision on the hosting of the game during elections.

The meeting would be held to assess and then take a final decision by Sunday noon. "We have 42 different schedules prepared for the game. Everything will be discussed and finalised at the meeting tomorrow," IPL commissioner Lalit Modi said.

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