Centre should not be linked with IPL spot fixing scandal: Omar

SRINAGAR, May 23:  Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said the UPA government at the Centre should not be linked with the IPL spot fixing scandal as it had nothing to do with it.

“What has the UPA got to do with IPL? You can hold the UPA responsible for other things but in IPL, players took the money and bookies paid them…People gambled on it,” Omar, whose National Conference is part of the UPA, told reporters here.

Responding to a question about involvement of UPA members in the spot-fixing scandal, Omar suggested that the ruling alliance at the Centre was unnecessarily linked to every wrong that takes place in the country.

“What are you talking about? Wherever you see any wrongdoing, you bring the UPA into it,” he retorted.

Omar said, since there was no specific law to deal with spot fixing and match fixing at the moment, the Centre has decided to enact a new law to deal with the problem.

“The (Union) Law Minister and (Union) Sports Minister have decided to bring a new law, which will provide for strict punishment for (those involved in) match fixing and spot fixing,” he added. (agencies)