Assault on Chappell a cheap publicity stunt: Dravid

Cuttack, Jan 23 (UNI) Reacting sharply to the Greg Chappell 'slap' incident at the Biju Pattnaik airport yesterday, Team India Skipper Rahul Dravid today said the incident occurred because media has been giving a platform to 'non-achievers' like the attacker to get easy publicity.

''What happened yesterday at the airport was indeed very sad and disappointing. Things like this should not happen. But it does not surprise me nowadays. It's so easy to get into the news nowadays,'' Dravid said while addressing the press today.

Last afternoon a 'Kalinga Sena' activist tried to break through the police cordon and stumbled on Chappell hitting him on his back.

The man identified as Birinchi Maharana was protesting against non-inclusion of any Oriya players in the Indian side.

The man was immediately arrested and taken away. But the news was like a raging forest fire spreading across the channels and within moments Kalinga Sena and the man earned celebrity status.

''The problem is we want to become famous overnight. No body knew that person or that organisation, now everyone knows them. Publicity is being given to things like this,'' he said.

''Obviously things like this come to the news everyday. Obviously not hitting. But we find cases of people filing cases against actors and people doing funny things. It gives them a platform to become famous overnight. You don't need to achieve anything to become famous,'' he lamented.

''This is a sad state and the future does not look so bright,'' he added.

An OCA official said, ''The man was not thinking about Orissa cricket. If that was the concern he would not have done that. It was a means to make the name of his party popular.'' Bhubaneswar Superintendent of Police Amitabh Thakur had refused to acknowledge the incident as a breach of security.

''There was no breach of security and the man did not slap Mr Chappell. He stumbled on to him. But this was a cheap gimmick. And he was taken into custody,'' he had said.

UNI