Midnight takeover is draconian and politically motivated: HPCA

The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) today termed the midnight takeover of the Dharamsala cricket stadium as "draconian" and "politically motivated" and a deliberate attempt to malign its reputation.
The Congress government took over the Dharamsala cricket stadium and all other HPCA properties in a midnight drama, hours after state cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Virbhadra Singh decided to cancel the lease deed of the land allotted to HPCA on Saturday night.
"The midnight takeover of the stadiums and academies, vigilance inquiries and registration of the FIRs and take over of the various other assets of HPCA is a draconian step taken by the state government which is politically motivated aimed to mislead the simple and honest people of the state and would prove detrimental in promoting sports in this hilly state," an HPCA release said.

"These steps have been tried previously as well when the congress government came into power in March 2003 and passed a draconian law like H.P Sports Act 2005 and tried to grab the control of HPCA unsuccessfully.
"There has been a deliberate attempt to malign and tarnish the reputation of the sports body which has brought Himachal on the world map of sports by projecting it as a commercial private entity which is far from the truth."
The State Vigilance and Anti-corruption Bureau had registered a case against the HPCA and the Registrar of Cooperative Societies had served a show-cause notice to the HPCA asking it to explain how the society was converted into a registered company.