MPs, fans angry at Chappell comment; BCCI behind the coach

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 ''they are paid to criticise'' even as BCCI threw weight behind him and blamed media for the controversy.

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 a hornet's nest when he said, ''I am not surprised by the outburst. They (MPs) are paid to do so.'' MPs reacted angrily cutting across party lines with CPI MP Gurudas Dasgupta saying that the Aussie ''has no business to make such comment, for he (Chappell) doesn't understand the nuances of Indian democracy.'' Buttonholed by the reporters for Chappell's remark, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee's terse comment was, ''Let nobody dictate to us.'' 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 Parliament but meet people concerned to discuss the issue,'' he said.

Another 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.

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.

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