Chappell's comment on MPs irks parliamentarians

New Delhi, Nov 27 (UNI) Already cornered with successive drubbings in South Africa, Team India coach Greg Chappell incurred further wrath from the parliamentarians for his comment that he was not surprised at the criticism from the MPs, for ''they are paid to do so.'' After the drubbing in Durban where the Men in Blue were all out for 91 against South Africa, parliamentarians were baying for Chappell's blood and the stoic Austrailan stirred the hornet's nest when he said, ''I am not surprised by the outburst. They (MPs) are paid to do so.'' Angry at Chappell's remark, CPI MP Gurudas Dasgupta said, ''He simply has no business to make such comment, for he doesn't understand the nuances of Indian democracy.'' Buttonholed by the reporters for Chappel's remark, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee's terse comment was, ''Let nobody dictate to us.'' Chappell's comments failed to amuse even Congress general secretary and BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla, who was trying to tread a middle path and trying to placate the irate MPs saying that winning and defeat are parts of the game.

''Chappell should not have commented that the MPs are paid to do so. I will try to make BCCI talk to him and discuss the issue,'' he said.

Mr Shukla, however, refused to read too much into the comment and said, ''I don't think Chappell intended to show disrespect to the parliamentarians and it's probably the Australian way of saying things.'' Reacting strongly to Chappell's comment on the MPs, Samajwadi Party leader Mohan Singh, one of the fiercest Chappell critics inside the Parliament, said he would take up the issue with men who matter.

''Since Chappell took over, we have had a string of defeats. we can't even play the entire 50 overs. Our party only reflected the common view among the spectators who want to show the door to Chappell but we won't waste valuable time of the parliament but meet people concerned to discuss the issue,'' he said.

BJP MP and cricketer-turned-commentator Navjot Singh Sidhu, however, refused to join the Chappell-bashing brigade and felt cheap publicity was prompting such outburst.

''It gives you easy publicity and so people are jumping on the bandwagon. But you tend to pelt stones only at fruit-bearing trees.

The situation is worse in hockey or athletics and you need reform more in those sports than cricket. We still talk about Milkha Singh who finished fourth (in Olympic).

''Visiting teams have lost 80 per cent matches in South Africa and we always tend to go overboard when it comes to cricket. Mark my words, the same crowd would worship the players when they come back and win a match or two at home,'' he opined.

Earlier, SP leader Amar Singh too felt Chappell must go and he urged BCCI President and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to seriously consider the issue.

In the Lok Sabha, CPI(M) MPs Mohd Salim and Basudeb Acharia wanted a debate on the issue with support from SP members but Speaker Somnath Chatterjee felt the house should not deviate from its custom and discuss someone who was not present in the house.

Senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Kumar Malhotra asked Mr Pawar to take harsh steps to revive the team's performance.

Parliamentarian Ramdas Athawale too has been vocal in the issue and the RPI leader has demanded Chappell's immediate sacking, along with a few non-performing players, to put the side back on its winning ways.

CPI (M) leader Brinda Karat, has demanded former skipper Sourav Ganguly's inclusion in the side, while fellow politbureau member Sitaram Yechury asked for a uniformity in the selection process.

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