Congress seeks probe into Himachal IPL matches

SHIMLA - The opposition Congress Monday demanded a probe into the financial affairs of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) and the conduct of two Indian Premier League matches (IPL) the state hosted last month.

“The Income Tax department should audit the HPCA accounts, the funds it generated and expenditure made during the IPL matches,” state Congress chief Kaul Singh Thakur told reporters here. The HPCA is headed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Anurag Thakur, son of Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal.

He said the HPCA should come out with a white paper about the funds it had received from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for hosting the matches and how and where these were spent.

Thakur also questioned the state government’s decision to sanction Rs.3 crore for developing Dharamsala town before the IPL matches.

“The government should provide details regarding the expenditure made on the development of town during the IPL matches. The government had sanctioned Rs.3 crore, but only a few lakhs had been spent,” he claimed.

The Congress leader also criticised the Dhumal government for extending special hospitality to IPL officials.

“The state government had provided its helicopter for transporting (suspended IPL commissioner) Lalit Modi and his family from Dharamsala to Delhi after the cricket match April 16,” he said, seeking to know why the government was favouring the IPL “which is functioning on corporate lines”.

Two IPL matches were held April 16 and 18 at the picturesque HPCA stadium in Dharamsala, which - at 4,000 feet - is one of the highest cricket grounds in the world.