By Flynn Remedios – Futuristic Media Network
Will someone please tell BCCI President Shashank Manohar and his top brass coterie at the BCCI that asking Lalit Modi to arbitrarily quit, step down or resign without following procedure will cause the BCCI more harm than good. It will show the world that the BCCI is an immature, driven by media hype body run by persons whose emotions and hearts rule their mind. If the BCCI President has adequate data to implicate Modi, they must immediately show cause him and give him a time, date and venue to remain present in person or through his pleader to defend himself. If they have adequate proof of criminal wrongdoing, they must file a criminal complaint or and FIR against Modi. But none of them will dare do that. They all want a mid-way compromise formula.
We live in India this great democracy where the judicial system still works. We pride in our pillars of democracy. We pride in our free press. We pride in the fact that even a poor man “can” get justice in India. No man is guilty unless proven guilty. Even if ten guilty people get away free, not a single innocent man should be punished are the ideals on which our legal system functions.
We must give Lalit Modi a chance to defend himself. He must get a chance to prepare his defense and answer all the allegations made against him. Unlike Shashi Tharoor, Lalit Modi is not a public servant or government servant. He was running a purely commercial establishment outfit geared to make maximum profits at all costs.
Lalit Modi’s only guilt as of now is his indiscretion in giving out details on Twitter. As IPL Commissioner, Lalit Modi should not have selectively given out the share holding pattern of one franchise on Twitter. He should have exercised discretion and prudence in this matter. He should not have let emotions get the better of him and his mental faculties. As far as all the wild allegations of match fixing, fraud, forgery, betting, money laundering, embezzlement, etc are concerned they are all just allegations. They need to be proven in a court of law by means of a fair trial. Lalit Modi must have an opportunity to speak up.
In that sense, Lalit Modi’s plea for a few days to prepare his defense is fully justified. The BCCI should show that it is a purely professional body and does not go by mere wild allegations appearing in the media. Even Saddam Hussain got an opportunity to face trial. The BCCI should first show cause Lalit Modi or conduct an open enquiry into all the allegations, but asking him to step down or quit without any opportunity to be heard is surely unfair.
In our judicial system, even murderers and rapists get several months to prepare their defense and then face trial. They get various opportunities to defend themselves through Revision Applications and Appeals. Why shouldn’t Lalit Modi be given a chance to speak up? Weren’t the BCCI bigwigs aware of what was going on.
In that sense BCCI President Shashant Manohar must accept responsibility and also step down owing moral responsibility for all the mess. To say that Shashank Manohar and others were not really aware of what is going on within the IPL is sheer stupidity. They were all probably in the know of what was going on. They just turned a blind eye.
If even if one per cent of the allegations against Lalit Modi are true, Lalit Modi could not have run the show with the active support of several BCCI and several others. To make Lalit Modi the fall guy would be hara kiri for the BCCI, because many of them would be signing their death warrants. A bitter and revengeful Lalit Modi is sure to hit out with the vengeance of a tornado. In that sense Shashank Manohar seems to be immature and wearing kid gloves. If he wants to save the good name of the BCCI and whatever equity is left of the IPL, he must follow the process of law. He must give Lalit Modi the time he wants – a few days will not harm anyone. The BCCI is considered as “state” in law and there is a standard procedure set out for such situations. The procedure must be followed. Asking Lalit Modi to arbitrarily quit may lay off the media pressure for a few days. But in the long run it will only harm the BCCI, IPL and cricket in India at large, because more harm will befall the BCCI.
Lalit Modi must get a fair trial. Lalit Modi must get justice. And justice must be seen to be done. We cannot get carried away by media hype. The BCCI must not let emotions rule it, but it should be governed by the rule of law. This entire scam was a result of non confirmation to SOP or standard operating procedure. The BCCI should in its rules have banned the use of public forums like Twitter for employees and officials to vent their spleen. The BCCI should have show caused Lalit Modi when he first tweeted and sent him an official memo or notice asking him to show cause why he should not be sacked for flouting the rule book.
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