IPL popularity undented though MPs want it banned

New Delhi, April 19 (IANS) The fast paced Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament h as its popularity quotient undented, even though several MPs Monday demanded it should be banned and probed following Shashi Tharoor's exit from the government Sunday night over his controversial link to the IPL Kochi franchise.

Most people, young and old alike, were strongly of the opinion that IPL should not be banned.

'IPL brings together Indian and international cricket players on the same platform and provides us with some great matches to enjoy. I agree that it's a commercial product, but instead of doing away with it, the corruption in the model should be curbed,' Kedarnath Jha, a school teacher, said.

Similarly, student Himanshu Sharma said: 'Just because there is a controversy surrounding two-three individuals, why should the entire IPL model be scrapped off? It's a great source of entertainment and we really enjoy it'.

Opposition MPs in the Lok Sabha Monday termed IPL as 'gambling' in the name of cricket and alleged that black money stashed in foreign banks was invested in it.

'The minister's resignation is not the issue. The issue is the IPL. We have not gone into the route. Issue is laundering of money. All this is happening under the nose of the government of India,' said Communist Party of India (CPI) MP Gurudas Dasgupta.

'Cricket is being maligned in the country. Wrong message is given to the budding cricketers to join the Twenty20 and earn crores. The IPL may be banned and a thorough probe ordered,' he said.

Similarly, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad said: 'Why target Tharoor only? The main culprit is this IPL. This is a gambling and betting business. There are bigwigs involved. The entire network should be probed'.

The demand from the opposition came after embattled Tharoor Sunday night stepped down over his links to the IPL Kochi franchise. He resigned after a weeklong drama after it was disclosed that his friend Sunanda Pushkar had received a sweat equity worth Rs.70 crore in the deal.

Reacting to the entire controversy, a number of people said that while it's important to have transparency and curb corruption, banning the IPL was no solution.

'IPL is a good source of entertainment - very fast paced, unlike the test and one day matches. It should definitely be probed into, so that the corruption can be curbed, but not banned!' said Anupama Dey, a student.

But there were a few voices that said the game model should be done away with.

'The spirit of cricket is missing in IPL. With the recent revelations, it just proves that in the name of game, a lot of money laundering and other murky things are going on behind the scenes. For the sake of the game therefore, IPL should be scrapped,' said Randhir Verma, a lawyer.