Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi and tournament sponsors DLF have been pulled up by the Union sports ministry for misusing the word ‘India’ during the ongoing sporting event. The ministry has written to the organisers and DLF to withdraw the logo ‘Building India’ near the bowlers’ run-up on either ends as well as near the passage leading to the presentation area as players and officials walk over it.
And though DLF on Friday agreed to withdraw the logo, the ministry is not pleased at the casual manner in which the issue was handled. “We could not understand what the compulsion was to use those particular words. DLF had another logo for the IPL, of a batsman executing a shot, and that could easily have been used instead. We were also surprised at their slow response because such directives are time-bound,” Injeti Srinivas, joint secretary (sports), told DNA.
The ministry had sent letters to Modi and BCCI officials on April 1 to comply with an Allahabad high court directive on March 26. A writ petition filed in the Lucknow bench had alleged that placing the logo ‘Building India’ on the ground violated the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, and the State Emblem of India Act, 1950. The ministry was forced to re-send the letters since there was no response from BCCI or IPL.
“Please appreciate that the matter in question involves deep public sentiments... players running over it (the word ‘India’) hurts public sentiments and is also tantamount to showing disrespect to the name of the country,” the ministry wrote to DLF chairperson KP Singh. “I, therefore, sincerely call upon DLF, the title sponsors, to respond to the strong public sentiments in the matter and take urgent action to stop such misuse... failing which we will take up the matter with the Trade Mark Commissioner for appropriate action,” the letter, with Srinivas’s signature, read.
The ministry wrote to Modi, “This matter was taken up with BCCI in pursuance of the directive received from the Allahabad high court (Lucknow bench)... BCCI was expected to take up the matter with the IPL commissioner and DLF and submit a comprehensive response to the ministry. However, we are yet to receive any comprehensive response from them.”
On Friday, DLF spokesperson Sanjay Roy told DNA, “We are withdrawing that logo from the ground in accordance with the directive.” Modi could not be contacted.
