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BCCI stumps Lankan president over tickets

MUMBAI: The state government faced a piquant situation on Friday, a day before Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa arrived for the World Cup cricket finals. India faces Sri Lanka in the final and the president, who is arriving with a large entourage, asked for 40 passes for the match. The protocol department is the state's chief liaison with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The president's demand was conveyed to the protocol department via the MEA. The BCCI, which has been facing a huge demand for passes from a large number of VIPs, is in no mood to accommodate the Sri Lankan president's request. "The BCCI has offered to give him only 20 passes,'' said a Mantralaya source. When the protocol department asked BCCI to give 40 passes and not 20, it was told to speak to International Cricket Council president Sharad Pawar. The protocol department has now written to the MEA and asked it to resolve the issue. "Since the BCCI has invited the president it must accommodate his request. Ultimately, they are our guests and you cannot expect your guests to sit in the hotel and watch the match on TV," said a senior minister in the state. Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI treasurer and tournament director, refused to comment, directing this correspondent to speak to the government. State protocol minister Suresh Shetty also refused to comment. Meanwhile, Indian president Pratibha Patil too has been asked by the BCCI to cut short her entourage from 65 to 35 as there are not enough passes to go around.

                                                                                                               
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