New Delhi, May 21: With fresh controversies dogging the IPL, Sabir Ali, a Rajya Sabha MP of the JD(U), on Monday demanded the resignation of its Chairman, Rajiv Shukla, on moral grounds. He said the cricket 'scam' will prove to be cancer for the country.

Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, Ali said people, who are in politics, should refrain from occupying positions in sports bodies. "If we are in politics, we should be away from sports (bodies). The Chairman of IPL is occupying a key place in this House and the government. He should resign from his post on moral grounds," he said without naming Shukla, who is a Minister of State and member of the Rajya Sabha.

The JD(U) MP said people in India follow cricket religiously. It hurts them when they learn that most matches which they follow so passionately are fixed. Ali said the common people are watching the sting operation reports closely and the IPL, for them is 'Indian Paisa Looto' where well-placed officials are robbing common men of their money. He also mentioned the controversy, which had dogged the IPL during the tenure of Lalit Modi, its previous chairman.

"The IPL scam is cancer for the country. The government should take notice of it," Ali said, referring to Sports Minister Ajay Maken who for the last one year, has been saying that the IPL and the BCCI should be freed from all sorts of scams, including match fixing. "A countrywide protest will start if such evil practices are not checked, particularly in the IPL," he said.

PTI