Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamge yesterday expressed displeasure over the facilities afforded to President Mahinda Rajapaska and Sri Lankan ministers at the Cricket World Cup finals in Mumbai last week.
But Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner said full protocol was observed where the President was concerned.
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| President Pratibha Patil and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on April 2. Pic courtesy The Hindu, Chennai |
Minister Aluthgamage said the President and his delegation were offered only 10 tickets though more were requested and as the Sports Minister he had to buy tickets to watch the match.
Several Sri Lankan Cabinet Ministers had to buy their own tickets in the 'black market' and stand in queues for nearly two hours in the scorching sun and be subjected to body searches by Indian security personnel at the Wankhede stadium before they could take their seats.
Minister Aluthgamage said visiting Sri Lankan Ministers could not be with the President.
“Our security arrangements are more advanced and if a VIP is checked in one location facilities are made to reach his seat without any security hassle. But here the situation was different,” he said.
Minister John Seneviratne who also witnessed the finals told the Sunday Times as
Cabinet ministers they did not have any special arrangements and had to go through the normal procedures as other spectators to witness the match.
“We hosted the visiting delegates in a better manner and would provide better facilities,” he said.
Minister C. B. Ratnayake, a former sports minister, said he witnessed the finals, but was on a private visit.
Among others who were present to witness the finals were Minister Susil Premajayantha, and Parliamentarian Thilanga Sumathipala, a former president of the Sri Lanka Cricket Board.
ICC spokesman Colin Gibson said it was not the normal practice for heads of state or government to meet the teams before the match, but “there was an exception made on a request for the Pakistan-India semi final".
He said he was not aware of any request from President Rajapaksa to meet the teams
However, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner Prasad Kariyawasam told the Sunday Times there were no complaints about the facilities afforded to the President to watch the finals.
He said the two teams were not introduced to President Rajapaksa or his Indian counterpart after they were consulted by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Asked why the two finalists were not introduced to President Rajapaksa, as was the case with the visiting Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani during the India-Pakistan semi-final in Mohali, High Commissioner Kariyawasam said the two teams were not introduced to President Rajapaksa and Indian President Pratibha Patil as that could have been a distraction when millions of people were geared up for the game. “The ICC and the BCCI consulted us and informed us about the decision. We accepted the arrangements made,” he said.
Mr. Kariyawasam also said they had received the required tickets for the President’s delegation and the Indian Government provided the required protocol for the visiting Sri Lankan President. Mr. Rajapaksa was met at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai by Sharad Pawar, the ICC chief who is also Minister of Agriculture. He was earlier flown by a special air force flight from Andra Pradesh to Mumbai.
Meanwhile, an Indian High Commission spokesman in Colombo said they had asked New Delhi as to why the two teams were not introduced to President Rajapaksa and President Patil but was yet to receive a response. |
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