Himachal cricket body row: BJP to challenge nod to prosecute Dhumal

The opposition BJP in Himachal Pradesh Thursday said it will challenge the grant of sanction by Governor Urmila Singh to prosecute former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal in a land row involving the state cricket association.

The Bharatiya Janata Party will challenge the prosecution sanction as it was granted in haste, party spokesperson Ganesh Dutt told reporters here.

"It's for the first time in the state's history that the sanction was given within a few hours and without applying the mind," he said.

The party's reaction came a day after the Congress government got sanction to initiate proceedings against Dhumal for alleged wrongdoing in allotment of land during his regime to the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) led by his son, Lok Sabha member Anurag Thakur.

The party, however, denied any wrongdoing in the allotment of land for the players' residential complex near HPCA's picturesque stadium in Dharamsala, some 250 km from the state capital.

The spokesperson said that allotting the land on lease to the HPCA was the cabinet's decision. But the government has singled out Dhumal, which clearly indicates the vindictive attitude of the government ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

"A single person should not be held responsible for allotment of the land."

Dutt said no individual was benefited out of it. "Moreover, the HPCA is registered with the BCCI." Dhumal is patron-in-chief of the HPCA.

Official sources said the government is yet to seek permission to prosecute Thakur, joint secretary in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), who is re-contesting Lok Sabha elections from Hamirpur in the state.

The vigilance and anti-corruption bureau filed a cheating and misappropriation case in August 2013 against the HPCA.

The charge sheet also includes names of 18 people, including Thakur.