<p>Ruling National Conference president and Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah came out on Tuesday in support of beleaguered chief of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) N Srinivasan, calling him an honourable man. Abdullah said betting in cricket should be legalised.<br /><br /></p>.<p>During the foundation-stone laying ceremony of Central University in Ganderbal, 27 km from here, Abdullah told reporters: “Why should he (Srinivasan) resign? If my son-in-law is involved, it does not mean I have to step down. Let the investigation get over. If it comes out in investigation that Srinivasan is responsible, then he will go. He is an honourable man.” <br /><br />Abdullah supported the idea of legalising betting in cricket. “If betting is legal in Dubai, the US and other places, then why can’t it be legalised in India? Why there is so much of fuss about it,” he asked.<br />Farooq Abdullah who is also the president of the J&K Cricket Association, said sports and politicians “are inseparable. The day you take politics out of sport, there will be no sport,” he said.<br />However, his views were contradicted by his son and state’s Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who believes that the job should be left to sportspersons. <br />Omar recently said he was of the view that sports bodies should be administered by sportspersons only. <br />“I am glad to know that Prof Soz also “is reading the same lines which I have been picking up from the ground,” Omar told reporters.</p>
<p>Ruling National Conference president and Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah came out on Tuesday in support of beleaguered chief of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) N Srinivasan, calling him an honourable man. Abdullah said betting in cricket should be legalised.<br /><br /></p>.<p>During the foundation-stone laying ceremony of Central University in Ganderbal, 27 km from here, Abdullah told reporters: “Why should he (Srinivasan) resign? If my son-in-law is involved, it does not mean I have to step down. Let the investigation get over. If it comes out in investigation that Srinivasan is responsible, then he will go. He is an honourable man.” <br /><br />Abdullah supported the idea of legalising betting in cricket. “If betting is legal in Dubai, the US and other places, then why can’t it be legalised in India? Why there is so much of fuss about it,” he asked.<br />Farooq Abdullah who is also the president of the J&K Cricket Association, said sports and politicians “are inseparable. The day you take politics out of sport, there will be no sport,” he said.<br />However, his views were contradicted by his son and state’s Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who believes that the job should be left to sportspersons. <br />Omar recently said he was of the view that sports bodies should be administered by sportspersons only. <br />“I am glad to know that Prof Soz also “is reading the same lines which I have been picking up from the ground,” Omar told reporters.</p>
