IPL Ticket Advisory: No CAA/NRC protest banners allowed during matches
New Delhi, Apr 2: The spectators coming to watch IPL matches in four cities including Delhi, Mohali, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad, will not be allowed to carry protest banners related to Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC), according to a specific advisory.
'Paytm Insider', which is the ticketing partner of Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Titans, Lucknow Super Giants, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings, has listed a few 'prohibited items' and one of them is banners related to CAA/NRC Protest.
It is understood that the advisory has been issued by the franchises, that manage the ticketing business of their respective home matches.
It is usually done in consultation with the BCCI as marquee sporting events do not allow any publicity of any sensitive political or policy issues.
The Citizen Amendment Act, 2019, better known as CAA was passed by the Parliament of India on December 12, 2019.
The CAA allowed minorities like Sikhs, Parsis, Jains, Buddhists in Islamic countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan to get Indian citizenship, if they had arrived in the country before December, 2014.
The law didn't grant eligibility to Muslims from these countries.
It had sparked protest across the country as the amendment was seen as discriminatory on the basis of religion.
The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a register of all Indian citizens whose creation was mandated by the 2003 amendment of the Citizenship Act, 1955.
Its purpose is to document all the legal citizens of India so that the illegal immigrants can be identified and deported.
With fans set to set to return to the stadium after missing the action from the venues for three seasons due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Indian board as well as the franchises perhaps wanted to ensure that no posters or banners are seen inside the stadium which are of sensitive nature.
The specific advisory was found while trying to book tickets for home matches of Delhi, Gujarat, Punjab and Hyderabad.
In case of CSK, the advisory of prohibited items didn't have this specific diktat as it was more generic.
When a senior DDCA official was asked about the advisory, he told PTI, "The ticketing is completely a franchise's prerogative. We are just facilitators, who provide them with the venue. We have no role in ticketing advisory."
A representative of an IPL franchise said that any advisory on prohibited items is always prepared in consultation with the BCCI.
"Any franchise prepares its list of do's and don't's on the advice of the BCCI and hence if such an advisory has gone, there is approval from the board or else it wouldn't appear on the website," said one of franchise officials on conditions of anonymity.
While there was no official comment available from the BCCI, sources in the know of things said that the protocols that even FIFA follows during its mega event has been adhered to while issuing the advisory.
This is also a way to avoid any untoward incident in the stadium.
"Please check FIFA guidelines for the last year's World Cup football in Qatar. According to Fifa rules, "political, religious or personal messages or slogans" are banned," a BCCI official tracking developments said.
According to a source, the BCCI is wary that one might wear a T-shirt under his shirt or just draw a poster with content that could be politically sensitive in nature.
A diktat like this will prevent any such activity as if anyone does otherwise, he/she could then be held for breach of in-stadia rules.
It must be mentioned that during the FIFA World Cup, at least seven captains from different nations wanted to wear 'One Love' armband with rainbow flag to protest against Qatar's law on same-sex relationship.
But once FIFA threatened to show yellow cards to players for wearing such arm-bands, the teams changed the plans.
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Nitish loses cool inside Bihar assembly over opposition's 'guns and bullets' jibe
Patna (PTI): Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar lost his composure inside the state assembly on Tuesday when opposition members created a ruckus alleging that his government was ruling the state with the help of "guns and bullets".
The 76-year-old leader, who stood up to admonish the unruly members, also had a slip of tongue, as he underscored the brute majority enjoyed by the NDA, saying "our strength is two thousand and two".
The BJP-led coalition, which includes Kumar's JD(U) and a few smaller parties, had swept the Bihar assembly polls last year, bagging 202 seats of the 243-strong House.
Trouble began soon after the House assembled at 11 am, with RJD MLA Kumar Sarvajeet registering a protest against the police's baton charge on village 'chowkidars' (watchmen) here a day ago when they were staging a demonstration to press the demand for a hike in stipends.
"The 'chowkidars' who were demanding a hike in their pay are very much employees of the Home department. Yet, they were treated in a deplorable fashion yesterday," alleged Sarvajeet.
Several other MLAs of the opposition party also raised a slogan: "bandook goli ki sarkar nahin chalegi (will not allow a rule by brute force, with the help of guns and bullets)".
This provoked Kumar, the longest serving CM of the state, who heads the JD(U) and has had a couple of short-lived alliances with the RJD in the past.
He shouted: "Do not talk rubbish. This government will run without any hiccups. Just look at us. We are two thousand and two. And just look at how many of you have been left now."
Kumar was apparently referring to the RJD's drubbing in the last assembly polls when it returned with a tally of 25, one of its worst ever performances.
When RJD leader Bhai Virendra reminded the JD(U) supremo of their two short-lived alliances in the last one decade, Kumar shot back: "Yes, and you people always indulged in mischief, a reason why I pulled out never to return".
The CM also reminded the opposition party, which was unseated from power by the NDA helmed by him in 2005, that "You did nothing worthwhile during the period you were in power... Law and order had been so abysmal that people feared getting out of their homes after 5 pm. So you better not talk nonsense."
Amid the heated exchange, some of the opposition MLAs trooped into the well, briefly plunging the House into turmoil.
The agitated members got pacified after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary rose to interject and said, "We will call representatives of various associations of chowkidars for talks. Their demands will be looked into, and appropriate action will be taken."
