Former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi and industrialist Harsh Goenka have slammed Karnataka MLAs for seeking VIP quota IPL tickets for free as a privilege.
Calling out privileges sought by Karnataka MLAs, the duo has credited IPL fans for its success with not much contribution made by the representatives.
“This is absolutely complete nonsense. Why should they be privileged. It’s the fan who made the @IPL not the elected representatives. Yet they want it as their birth right,” Lalit Modi tweeted.
The VIP quota row for IPL tickets is not relenting even though the tickets were given to the state’s MLAs. The swift arrangement of tickets for them enraged the masses and public figures.
There have been sharp reactions to the directive from the Karnataka Legislative Assembly Speaker UT Khader. Who said that MLAs should receive four free IPL tickets each for themselves and their families to enjoy matches from VIP galleries.
Lalit Modi, the man who conceived the IPL, and Harsh Goenka, an industrialist and avid sports follower, criticized the directive and the subsequent ticket issuance by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA).
How did it all start?
Congress MLA Vijayanand Kashappanavar complained that legislators were being made to stand in general queues and later redirected to a “common gallery” for matches. He alleged that the KSCA failed to provide complimentary tickets to MLAs, ministers, or their families.
‘Equality Ends Where Privilege Begins’
The response on social media was swift and scathing. Goenka was among the first to call out the entitlement, reminding his followers that the public being sidelined votes these representatives into power, funds the system they benefit from, and is now being told that equality ends where privilege begins.
‘It’s the Fan Who Made the IPL, Not the Elected Representatives’
Former IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi was equally blunt, calling the demand “absolutely complete nonsense” and arguing that fans—not elected officials—built the IPL into the phenomenon it is today. He also drew a sharp international comparison, noting that a minister in an Asian country was recently sacked for accepting just two complimentary tickets to a major sporting event without declaring them as a gift.
The episode has reignited a broader conversation about the culture of political entitlement in India, where public servants routinely expect preferential access to events paid for and patronised by the very citizens they represent. As cricket fever grips the nation each IPL season, many are asking a simple question: who does the sport actually belong to?
The VIP Ticket Row: A Timeline
From sell-out chaos to political privilege — how the row unfolded