Modi acting against Rajasthan, says state government

The Rajasthan government has accused Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, of acting out of spite in taking the league's matches away from Jaipur because he had recently lost an election to head the local association. Shanti Dhariwal, the state's home minister, claimed they had asked for only two matches of the Rajasthan Royals to be rescheduled as per the IPL's revised schedule but failed to get a response from Modi.

"Modi has pulled the IPL out of Jaipur," Dhariwal said. "We wanted only two out of six dates rescheduled. He [Modi] never negotiated with us. In an election, one party wins and the other loses, like in matches, but that doesn't mean you leave the state and walk away with the matches. The people of Rajasthan will never forgive him for this."

Jaipur and Delhi do not figure in the IPL's re-revised list, Modi had said, because local police there could not confirm security for the event without support from central forces who will be deployed for general election duty at the same time. Delhi is understood to be making hectic efforts to get back on the schedule while Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have confirmed that they are willing to host the IPL.

The Hindustan Times, meanwhile, published a letter from a senior official of Rajasthan's home department to the Rajasthan Royals franchise, which claimed the state was willing to hold matches in Jaipur as long as they were not held between May 4 and May 10. Elections in Rajasthan are scheduled on May 7.

Modi, however, told the newspaper that the state government could not reach a consensus with the central government on the use of central security forces. "I went back with a new schedule, with five matches in Jaipur, but the government once again said it wanted paramilitary forces to provide security. Why would I want to keep Jaipur out?" Modi said. "What can I do if a consensus cannot be reached?"

Sundar Raman, the IPL CEO, later issued a press statement on the matter. "There have been media reports about the Rajasthan Royals home matches being deliberately shifted out from the Pink City," he said in the statement.

"To set the record straight - Jaipur was one of the first venues to express interest in hosting IPL and the initial schedule that IPL submitted to the Home Ministry had 5 matches scheduled in Jaipur. However the confirmation from state government of Rajasthan had a rider - which required central forces support. The ministry of home affairs had made it clear that no central forces will be available. The schedule has since undergone multiple iterations. We are operating with constraints and it would be unfair to call this a deliberate effort on the part of IPL for changes in the schedule that have been necessitated," the statement said.

Modi was elected president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) in 2005 and held the post till late last year with the backing of the previous government. However, a change of state administration resulted in Modi losing the post last month.