CONRAD DIAS
Ranchi, May 7: Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) has taken a policy decision to ban Jharkhand’s Tourism, Art Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Hafizul Hasan and Education Minister Jagarnath Mahto from entering the JSCA International Cricket Stadium.
The decision was taken unanimously during the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at JSCA Stadium on May 1 and the newly elected Committee of Management was authorised to decide on the punishment points.
Former President of JSCA, Amitabh Choudhary, raised the issue without naming anyone and said that the then Joint Secretary of JSCA Rajiv Badhan, was abused by two self-styled bigwigs during the India vs New Zealand T20 match held on 19 November 2021 in Ranchi.
However, former life member of Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) cum former secretary of Ranchi Cricket Association Sunil Kumar Singh feels that the decision has been taken without following necessary protocols.
“The decision to ban the two government officials is beyond my understanding as the decision has been taken after seven months of the incident right after a new committee has been formed. Moreover, the action has been taken against the two ministers in the presence of a government official on the questions raised by the chairman of JPSC, Amitabh Choudhary. There is something unusual in the decision,” Singh added.
Advocating a tough decision on misbehaviour, Choudhary said that no matter how big a person is, action must be taken against him.
He also cited the decision to ban Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan at the Wankhede Stadium in 2012 and read out the decision taken by the Mumbai Cricket Association as historic.
According to sources, the JSCA high command has given clear instructions to the pawns of the Committee of Management to impose a ban of at least five years on the lines of the Mumbai Cricket Association.
It has been argued that in Mumbai, Shah Rukh Khan had misbehaved with a junior staff and a five-year ban was imposed, while in JSCA, the then Joint Secretary and the current Treasurer have been misbehaved. In such a situation, a five-year ban should be imposed.
With the decision to ban the current sports minister from entering the JSCA Stadium, the future of the MLA’s match which is held every February is in question as it is organised by the sports department itself.
