IPL fixers should be banned, government must act: Sharad Yadav

New Delhi: Janata Dal-United (JDU) leader Sharad Yadav on Friday said that the Indian Premier League should be banned in the wake of exposure of sleaze, betting and spot fixing by television channels.

Spot-fixing in IPL: Full Coverage» He also accused the government at the centre of not being ready to act on either corruption or against those responsible for the illegal activities going on in the IPL. "All the televisions are showing the same news. The BCCI is saying that they have nothing to do with it (the spot fixing). They only produced it. The BCCI president is moving about with a tilak on his forehead. There is no scarcity of laws. It (IPL) should be banned," said Yadav. "The nation is in a state of restlessness. The Govt is not ready to act on either corruption or on this. They (UPA leaders) are just giving speeches. They should enact laws. The BCCI should be made accountable and a new structure should be created," he added. Yadav`s comments came as Mumbai Police tightened its grip around Chennai Super Kings Principal Gurunath Meiyappan, rejecting his plea to give him time till Monday to appear before its crime branch for questioning with regard to his role in betting and spot fixing ion the current edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Meiyappan was issued with a summons to appear before the Mumbai crime branch between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. today, as he was not at home to answer questions by a Mumbai police team who went to his Chennai residence on Thursday. Latest television reports said that he has flown to Madurai from Kodaikanal after a meeting with N. Srinivasan. He is expected to reach Mumbai before the 5 p.m. deadline ends. Meiyappan had last evening reportedly faxed a request to give him more time to join the investigation, but Mumbai Police refused to entertain his request. “If we were going to grant an extension, we would not have personally delivered a summons all the way to Chennai,” Mumbai Police said. On Thursday it was declared that if Meiyappan failed to show up on Friday, he would be declared a fugitive from justice, and an arrest warrant could be issued in his name. Meanwhile, Vindoo Dara Singh is due to appear in court again on Friday. Mumbai Police is likely to ask the court to extend his custody. In Delhi, three bookies are likely to be produced before a court today. According to television reports, an international bookie, identified as Mohammad, has been arrested while attempting to escape to Dubai via Hyderabad. Three Chennai Super Kings players, one of them quite senior, are also reportedly under the scanner of the police and other investigating agencies after Vindoo Dara Singh revealed that he was in touch with them during the ongoing T20 season. Mumbai Police said that they are still verifying the authenticity of Vindoo``s claims. Mumbai``s Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), Himanshu Roy, however, refused to reveal the identities of the cricketers. The police might question the players once they corroborate Vindoo``s claims, sources said. Vindoo Dara Singh was arrested by Mumbai Police on May 21 for betting and his alleged links to bookies, and now he is emerging as a key link in the spot-fixing scandal that has rocked Season 6 of cricket``s richest tournament. His interrogation has brought the fixing scandal to the door of Chennai Super Kings, which is owned by India``s cricket board chief N.Srinivasan. According to other media reports,Meiyappan has always had links with bookies of Chennai and Dubai. Media reports quoted N Srinivasan`s disgruntled 44-year-old son Ashwin, as saying: “Guru had several connections with known bookies from Chennai and Dubai and was regularly in touch with them even before the IPL started.” “What began as a relatively smaller side-business became a full-fledged one over the years,” he added. Ashwin also claimed that Guru was steadily increasing his foothold over his father’s business. He accused Guru of purposely poisoning his parents’ mind to ensure that the rift between them widens. ANI