|
- Dhanesh Shivdasan, February 28, 2006, 11:40 IST
The war between the two opposing factions in the Indian cricket board climaxed on Monday with former board chief Jagmohan Dalmiya hitting back at the ruling group and BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah slapping a show cause notice on the veteran sports administrator.
In a day of dramatic developments, Dalmiya addressed a crowded media meet, taking umbrage at the charge that he had misappropriated funds to the tune of crores of rupees, and filed a 'point-by-point' reply to each of the charges.
Accusing his adversaries in the BCCI of carrying on a 'witchhunt,' Dalmiya disclosed that he had sent an 11-page reply to BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah's note. (The alleged irregularities relate to management of funds by the Pakistan India Lanka Committee, the joint organisers of the 1996 world Cup).
Dalmiya challenged the BCCI to come out with documentary evidence that he had misappropriated 'even a single paisa' and threatened legal action against its vice president Lalit Modi.
A short while after Dalmiya's press meet, news filtered in that he has been sapped with a show-cause.
The three-page letter has asked Dalmiya to explain within 15 days why appropriate action should not be taken against him for the 'irregularities' in PILCOM transactions.
The letter claimed that Dalmiya had not furnished enough details and records pertaining to the PILCOM transactions as also the imprest account in Kolkata.
While calls to BCCI office bearers, including Shah and vice president Lalit Modi, went unanswered, one of Dalmiya's aides said the letter mentioned the note circulated by the board secretary at the February 21 Working Committee meeting, where the matter was raised.
Expressing surprise over the letter, the aide said Dalmiya had been given seven days' time to reply to Shah's note at the working-committee meeting.
"Dalmiya sent his reply this morning, which is the sixth day after the working committee meeting. However, they did not even care to wait for the reply, and served the show cause," he said.
The aide said Dalmiya was talking to lawyers on the latest missile fired by the powers-that-be in the BCCI.
Earlier, the veteran sports administrator said that he was ready for a trial by media so that the truth could come out.
Asked if he was contemplating moving court, Dalmiya said: "I will wait for a response from those who have levelled the allegations against me. If I feel that things are going too far, I won't hesitate to take legal action." Dalmiya said he had a 'lot to say' about the 'transparency' in the functioning of the present BCCI regime, including the television rights deal.
"I have a lot to say, but not today. I will come back to you on this. It is something very important. I know what kind of transparency they have." Releasing to the media his reply to Shah's note as also various other documents pertaining to the PILCOM, Dalmiya clarified that it had only one account maintained by Pakistan and India at Citibank, London . "It has no other account anywhere, be it Kolkata or any other place."
Dalmiya said the PILCOM account could not be closed as the Income Tax authorities had slapped a series of cases, 64 of which were still pending. Due to the pending IT cases, the final amount with the PILCOM could not be assessed, and so the residual money could not be divided between India and Pakistan, he claimed. On the allegation that a total of Rs 6.05 lakh had been withdrawn between April and December last year from the imprest account maintained by the BCCI here, Dalmiya said that the amount was withdrawn to meet monthly expenses towards salaries, local conveyance, travelling and other heads.
| 
