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India’s home minister P Chidambaram has reiterated that the general elections are “unquestionably” first priority over the IPL, which is scheduled to run in roughly the same period, and said the tournament’s organisers should take a call on whether to cancel this season’s edition.

His assertion of a position he has held over the past few weeks underlines the question mark over whether the IPL will be staged. Concerns over security grew following the attack in Lahore; shortly after, Chidambaram first suggested the IPL be postponed.

More than two weeks later, it seems his position has not changed. “I can’t exempt any state government from giving to the election commission the forces they have promised,” he told the Indian news channel CNN-IBN. “I have also made it clear that I cannot spare any central paramilitary forces.”

Asked whether the IPL should be called off if the dates weren’t sorted out, he said the decision lay with the organisers. “I think the organisers are responsible people. I think they are patriotic Indians. I think they will take a call.”

The home minister had initially asked for the postponement of the IPL as he did not want to overstretch his security personnel. The IPL’s organisers had revamped the tournament’s itinerary several times in a bid to avoid a clash with election dates – both run through April and May – but an agreement remains elusive after a fortnight of negotiations. The home ministry said it was waiting for reports from state governments before responding to the latest schedule, which was sent in by the IPL on Tuesday.

The police chiefs of Himachal Pradesh (where some matches are scheduled to be held in Dharamshala) and Andhra Pradesh (Hyderabad, home of the Deccan Chargers) have said they would be able to guarantee forces for the games according to the revised IPL schedule.

Chidambaram, though, said that it wasn’t sufficient for a match to not coincide with polls in the state where it was being held. “… If the election is taking place in a neighbouring state or just across the state border, if we have an IPL match in the state, there could be problems.”

Source:Cricket News

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