Indian Premier League chairman Rajeev Shukla on Tuesday sought intervention of the Centre for the smooth conduct of Chennai Super Kings matches amidst demands that the the Twenty20 League be suspended in city till Cauvery water dispute is sorted.
Shukla met Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba, requesting him to ensure security arrangements for uninterrupted hosting of the matches. Various political parties and outfits have demanded that the matches be not held at a time when the state is witnessing widespread agitations on the issue.
Hours before the CSK-KKR tie, pro-Tamil activists staged demonstrations outside the MA Chidambaram stadium against holding of the IPL fixtures in Tamil Nadu. The activists of T Velumurugan-led Tamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi (TVK) tried to picket the stadium, but were immediately removed by the police.
The slogan-shouting activists demanded that IPL matches be not held at Chepauk. “I met the Union Home Secretary (Rajiv Gauba) requesting him to ensure that IPL matches in Chennai are conducted smoothly. The Home Secretary spoke to DGP (Tamil Nadu) and asked him to ensure that there are no security issues for the fans,” Congress leader and senior BCCI official Shukla said.
Over 4,000 policemen including commandos and members of the Rapid Action Force have been deployed for the tie.