If HPCA reverts as society, we’ll withdraw cases, says Virbhadra

Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, July 21

If the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) decides to revert from a company to a society, the state government is willing to withdraw all cases registered against the sports body, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said today.

“I do not have personal or political enmity with the HPCA as neither anyone from my family nor I myself am aspiring to become president of the sports body,” he said while justifying action against the HPCA headed by BJP MP Anurag Thakur, who is also son of former Chief Minister PK Dhumal.

Virbhadra clarified that he was not seeking government control of the HPCA and would not allow misuse of government property at any cost. “I have stood for certain principles in my long political career spanning more than five decades and there is no question on any compromise on it,” he stated. He said every sport must be promoted and all associations must function democratically. He said as long as he was Chief Minister he would not allow government land worth crores to be taken over and controlled by a company whose majority of the life members and patrons are from Punjab.

“The previous BJP regime gave prime land to the HPCA at Dharamshala, Shimla, Nadaun and Nurpur for promotion of cricket but the HPCA in violation of all norms got itself converted from a society to a company which is totally illegal,” he remarked. He added that the BJP regime even wanted to hand over Annandale Ground to the HPCA. He said the HPCA misused power while Dhumal was the chief minister and knocked off college lecturers’ residential quarters by declaring them unsafe to pave way for the stadium and a five star hotel complex. “Even today over 2,500 trees are standing on the land near the stadium while the permission granted by the Forest Department clearly states that there are no trees on this chunk of land given to the HPCA,” said Virbhadra.

The CM said he had never indulged in the politics of vendetta and it was Dhumal who set a wrong precedent of pursuing politics of vengeance against his opponents. “PK Dhumal filed two false cases against me and it was only after facing session trial that I got a clean chit. For this, I even resigned,” he said.