Defiant Srinivasan refuses to step down; tweaks Shukla's statement

Clearly there is enough pressure on N Srinivasan to quit from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). But the BCCI president refuses to cave in to detractors both from within and outside the board. Earlier in the day, IPL Commissioner and cricket board member Rajiv Shukla suggested that Srinivasan should step aside until the three-member panel completes the investigation on the spot-fixing scandal. But Srinivasan stuck to his stand that he has done nothing wrong and won't relinquish his position. Rajiv Shukla mentioned "Till the pendency of inquiry, he should disassociate himself from the procedure as earlier also, it was discussed that he should disassociate. He will have to take a decision now. Me and Mr. Jaitley had suggested him." Shukla said after meeting Jaitley. But N Srinivasan cleverly tweaked that statement saying "Rajiv Shukla has only reiterated what I had said on Sunday that I will keep away from the inquiry process". Even as this blatant refusal to step down continues, the sports today stepped in and sought the resignation of N Srinivasan for the sake of propriety. "BCCI is enquiring into allegations of match and spot-fixing. As there is a conflict of interest in this inquiry, therefore BCCI president should tender his resignation on moral grounds, pending the outcome of the inquiry," the ministry said in a statement. The Hyderabad Cricket Association president G Vinod also pressed for Srinivasan's ouster "When you take the public mandate it very clearly shows that he needs to step down. It is important that he puts his conscience in the right place. As far as his resignation is concerned there is bound to be some kind of discussion," Vinod said.