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Over the years Indians have been privy to dirty politics - the likes of booth capturing, money for votes, illegal voting etc., but never ever has one been privy to what transpired in the Banana Republic that is now the state of Rajasthan.

I mean how else can one explain the following facts :

a) 0n 7th March an appeal was posted on the timeline of Amin Pathan wherein people were exhorted to reach the RCA premise at the SMS stadium at 9am on 9th March as Amin was contesting.

This fact about apprehension of violence on the day of vote was timely and duly communicated to both Chairman RSSC and the Police Commissioner, Jaipur.

b) Then yesterday, when a bus carrying my group of supporters opposing the NO CONFIDENCE motion reached the junction of the Ram Bagh and Ambedkar circles in Jaipur at around 10:50 am, their vehicles were attacked by a mob of hooligans with fire arms, swords, choppers and iron rods.   

c) The vehicles were duly stopped and the hoodlums forcefully entered the buses and started beating the occupants. Over 15 people were injured in this attack and admitted to hospitals in Jaipur. The mob also charged the vehicles with heavy stone pelting which also injured many members of the RCA.

d) The purpose of this premeditated attack was to intimidate and prevent the members opposing the no confidence motion from attending the meeting.

e) Then, despite the attack and personal injury, when the members of the RCA reached the meeting venue around 11:05-15 they were stopped at the entrance of the meeting hall by the staff of RSSC and the police personnel saying that they were late and that the meeting had already started.

f) This inspite of the fact that the timing of the meeting was fixed between 11am to 2pm by the RSSC.

g) Meanwhile a series of text messages and emails were sent to the Chairman RSSC apprising him of the situation. Despite all of which the Chairman of the RSSC preferred to go ahead with the no confidence motion only in the presence of the members who moved the motion and with no one allowed to oppose. Especially since all the members who wished to oppose the motion were not allowed to attend the meeting and cast their vote.

All of the above happened in broad daylight in full purview of the local JAIPUR POLICE who chose to do NOTHING. Which begs me to ask the question -
Was the CHIEF MINISTER involved in this sham too?

Whatever happened to law and order in the state? Or is the State of Rajasthan being reduced to another lawless Banana Republic like some other states in our great nation - which today are governed like the Wild West.

The utterly despicable work done by hooligans and anti-sport ruffians have spoilt the good name of the sport in the country. The Jaipur Jailbreak as I like to call the happenings in the Pink City have pained me immensely.

A bunch of rogues were gunning to wrest for the control of the sport from us. We had been quietly working to put the sport back on the main agenda of governance much like in the first stint. But sadly the sport was never the top agenda for our rivals.

They just wanted power at the cost of the good of the game. It is a sad reflection of the way the sport is run generally in the country where muscle-power becomes the buzzword. How can the gentleman's game be subjected to such behaviour? Why cannot the will of the people who voted us be respected?

Like we decided to bide our time away from the reins of the association, every right thinking and democracy loving person should have done the same. Instead what we had was a display of naked greed for power. This is nothing but about the control and the trappings of power.

How could the meeting have gone ahead when more than half the delegates were being attacked? That certainly is beyond me. To see scores of genuine cricket people being attacked downright criminal. This is blatant mockery of the principles of democracy. To see genuine cricket supporters being attacked was a sad commentary on the state of the affairs in the state.

I am sorry to say but what we saw in Jaipur on Monday was nothing short of murder. Murder of democracy. I salute all the brave soldiers of cricket who bore the brunt of what I call a criminal gang in Rajasthan's cricket.

The chair of the meeting, JC Mohanty, who incidentally holds a post in the State Government, should have pressed charges against the Pathan group for this violence. Instead we had him toeing the Pathan line. If there was anything that hurt the image of the game then this was it. The state government's support of the Pathan gang smacks of what I call a "fixed match".

The chair should have realised by the lack of presence of our group that there is something amiss. Instead, the chair went with the Pathan group. It appeared that there was a hidden agenda for all concerned in the meeting.

The judge, the jury and the convict were all on one side. No wonder justice was not delivered.

If this is a commentary of things to come in the weeks, months and years ahead - I think there is simply no hope for our sport!!!

The game might as well be pronounced DEAD in the grand state of Rajasthan, Long Live The Game!!!!!

But I will not give up. The RCA offices in Jaipur have been sealed on a High Court order as I have appealed against the no-confidence extraordinary general meeting. Await the next court hearing on March 30.