Slamming Union Minister Farooq Abdullah's re-election as the president of Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA), opposition PDP demanded prosecution against the leader and other accused in the Rs 50 crore-JKCA cricket scam.
The opposition also criticised the manner in which the polls were held, saying it was done so sensing defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, results for which would be announced on May 16.
"The re-election of Farooq Abdullah as president of JKCA is another example of politico-criminal nexus in the state. Party demands prosecution of the National Conference leader and others, accused in the infamous cricket scandal," senior PDP leader, Tariq Hamid Karra said.
"The hush-hush manner in which Farooq reinstalled himself as the president of JKCA is an assault on the interests of youth," Karra, Farooq's rival in Srinagar Lok Sabha seat said.
"Farooq conducted the unscheduled elections of the JKCA in unholy haste to beat the May 16 deadline for his party's anticipated debacle in the Lok Sabha elections," he said.
Farooq Abdullah was elected unopposed as the president of JKCA yesterday. As many as 18 of the 64-member association staged a walkout before the elections were held to protest the way the affairs of JKCA have been handled in the recent years.
Raking up the JKCA scam, Karra said there were documentary evidences to substantiate that over Rs 50 crore were withdrawn from accounts of the JKCA with Farooq's consent.
"The amount was withdrawn from the bank on the authority letter of Farooq which was duly signed by him," Karra said, adding that the money received from BCCI for the promotion of cricket in the state was doled out to "blue eyed persons" of the NC leader.
Claiming that Farooq's re-election was aimed at hushing up the case, he said those sidelined on charges of embezzlement have now been brought back into important positions in the association, and demanded prosecution of the National Conference leader and other accused in the infamous scandal.
