BCCI, Srinivasan blasted by Supreme Court for conflict of interest

The Supreme Court on Monday blasted Board of Control for Cricket in India president-in-exile N Srinivasan for conflict of interest, asking how somebody within the sports body is also holding a franchise in the Indian Premier League or IPL.

"You are a person who is managing the show. You are also having a team in IPL. Your are the owner of a team (Chennai Super Kings) in IPL. Would it not be a conflict of interest," asked an apex court bench headed by Justice T.S. Thakur.

"People are passionate about the game. The BCCI is killing it," the apex court noted in what is perhaps the harshest reprimand in the ongoing row over the BCCI's defiant stand on Srinivasan, who is also the owner of the Chennai Super Kings franchise. "You can't make a distinction between BCCI and IPL. IPL a is a by-product of BCCI," the Supreme Court noted.

The apex court added, "You will have to address question of conflict of interest as head of BCCI and also as owner of IPL team, whose official is found to be involved."

Srinivasan had on Friday requested the Supreme Court that he may be restored to his position as BCCI chief and be allowed to function. He argued that the Mudgal committee, that probed allegations of match fixing and betting in the 2013 edition of IPL, has cleared him of all charges levelled against him.

Robert Vadra whistleblower Ashok Khemka gets plum post in haryana

Whistleblower IAS officer from Haryana cadre, Ashok Khemka, who was shunted to the state archives department after he exposed the discrepancy in Robert Vadra's land deals with real estate giant DLF, joined on Monday as the transport commissioner and secretary (transport).

"Taken over as Transport Commissioner, Haryana today. Looking forward to bringing improvement in the transport sector," Khemka tweeted.
Khemka was shifted out as director general, state consolidation and land reclamation department after he highlighted shortcomings in the mutation in the deal between a firm owned by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law and DLF.
Khemka was transferred over 45 times in his 23-year career as a civil servant.
As part of the ruling BJP government's reshuffle plans in Haryana, another bureaucrat, Pradeep Kasni, who had a run-in with the previous Bhupinder Singh Hooda government when he highlighted anomalies in the appointment of commissioners, was made Gurgaon's new divisional commissioner.

Modi government faces black money heat in Parliament

The Trinamool Congress and the Janata Dal (United), which had given notices for suspension of the Question Hour in Rajya Sabha to discuss the issue, blocked the main gate of Parliament and raised slogans against the NDA government.