Shivraj joins chorus, seeks ban on IPL

Mirzapur: Echoing demands raised in various quarters after the spot fixing expose, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday termed the IPL a mere buffoonery and said its time the league should be banned.

"This league should be put to an end. IPL is not a sport but a mere `tamasha` (buffoonery) and fixing has put a blot on it," Chouhan, who was here on a religious trip, said. It would be in the larger interest of the game that the tournament is discontinued, Chouhan said. Earlier, Janata Dal(United) had made a similar demand, saying that every edition of the tournament has been marred with "scandals". "Human beings (players) are being auctioned. When one is auctioned, his values are also sold. IPL`s motive from the very beginning is only minting money and not encouraging games," JD-U chief Sharad Yadav had said. Three cricketers, including pace bowler S Sreesanth, have been arrested on charges of spot-fixing in the IPL matches. PTI