- By BV Swagath
The BCCI President N Srinivasan finds himself in a spot of bother after being asked by the CBI (India’s Central Investigating Agency) to appear before them in their Hyderabad office next week. The matter of investigation is not related to cricket but that of ‘Quid Pro Quo Allegations’.
Well N Srinivasan apart from being the BCCI Chief is also a big industrialist. The 67-year-old N Srinivasan based in Chennai is the owner of the India Cements (ICL) company. Now this is the same company that bought the Chennai Super Kings franchise in the Indian Premier League.
The reason why N Srinivasan finds himself in some trouble is because of YS Jagan, the son of late Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy. It’s alleged that Mr Srinivasan’s company had received out of the way favours from the Andhra Pradesh Government when YS Rajasekhara Reddy was the CM. The favour was to allocate water and limestone to India Cements’ plants in Andhra Pradesh in return of the company investing around 200 crores in YS Jagan’s firms mainly in the Sakshi Media Group.
Yesterday, the CBI had grilled Ponnala Lakshmaiah, the then irrigational minister in AP Govt. in the same connection. What follows the next day is the CBI issuing summons to Mr N Srinivasan, the BCCI Chief and also the Managing Director of India Cements. We will have to wait and see if N Srinivasan can convince the CBI that he didn’t indulge in any bribing by investing unrealistic amounts in YS Jagan’s companies in return of water allocation for the India Cement. All this is in connection with Kadapa MP and also the YSRCP President YS Jagan’s disproportionate assets case which is shaking up the country.
