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MCA president supports Srinivasan's stand

Ravi Sawant, the president of the Mumbai Cricket Association, has said that N Srinivasan, the BCCI president, would be assumed guilty if he resigned now

ESPNcricinfo staff
29-May-2013
Ravi Sawant, the president of the Mumbai Cricket Association, has said that N Srinivasan, the BCCI president, would be assumed guilty if he resigned now since he did not resign the day Gurunath Meiyappan, his son-of-law, was arrested. Sawant also said that although the issue of conflict of interest in Srinivasan's case was a valid one, raising it six years after the start of the IPL by some BCCI members was opportunistic.
"Today, if he [Srinivasan] resigns, people will straightaway accuse him of being guilty and that is the reason he is not resigning," Sawant told NDTV. "He is saying, 'I will prove there is nothing against me personally.'"
Sawant added that any person shouldn't be holding two conflicting positions, but the BCCI made an exception when they allowed Srinivasan to hold his position in the board while being the managing director of India Cements, the owners of the Chennai Super Kings franchise. To bring up the issue now, Sawant said, was not correct.
"The rules were already in place. First time when buying a franchise, all the rules were applicable," he said. "That time, he was not the BCCI president. He has gone from treasurer to secretary to president. So someone should have voiced their concerns, because these rules were made to prevent certain things to happen. You are now saying those rules were there and there is a conflict of interest and he should resign. To my mind, we should retrospectively think about it, why didn't we object to his buying a franchise."
"If you are supporting the decision of him buying a team, now to make an issue out of it is not correct. All these people speaking against him now are holding positions in the board, and they have worked with him. How can you raise an issue now?"
The president of the Hyderabad Cricket Association, G Vinod, said since Srinivasan was an elected president and did not intend to resign, the matter should be taken up at a working committee meeting so that all board members can discuss their positions. However, Chetan Chauhan, the vice president of the Delhi District Cricket Association, said Srinivasan should step down while Gurunath was under investigation and could return if Gurunath was absolved.