M A I N   N E W S

Minister of State for Defence Pathak quits

NEW DELHI, Nov 11 (UNI) — Minister of State for Defence Hiren Pathak resigned tonight.

The minister submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee when he was called by the latter at his residence, an official spokesman of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said here.

Mr Pathak’s resignation comes in the wake of a chargesheet filed against him in a lower court in Ahmedabad in connection with the murder of a head constable during the 1985 “anti-reservation riots”.

The other accused in the chargesheet, Gujarat Health Minister Ashok Bhatt, will also submit his resignation, the official spokesman said.

Earlier, addressing a joint press conference here, both ministers said they had apprised the party high command of the full facts and would accept its decision.

They said they were innocent and would continue to fight the battle legally. The impression created by the opposition and the media that they led the 1985 “anti-reservation riots” was erroneous as the BJP was not part of the agitation, they added.

CHENNAI, Nov 11 (PTI) — Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin today failed to appear before the cricket board’s watchdog on the CBI report on the match-fixing scandal as the fact-finding commissioner K. Madhavan said the BCCI would take action against those found guilty by him.

Only Manoj Prabhakar, who was called along with Azhar and Ajay Sharma for cross-examination on the evidence brought out in the CBI report, appeared before Madhavan.

After examining Prabhakar for five hours, Madhavan said: “I am a fact-finding commissioner. Based on my report, the BCCI will take action against those found guilty of misconduct and let the person, who is not found guilty, to go free”.

He said Manoj Prabhakar had gone away with a “happy frame of mind” after the inquiry.

Madhavan said his role was limited to finding out if there was any misconduct on the part of players and administrators.

Asked if he would also examine those who had been absolved of match-fixing and betting allegations, as per the CBI report, Madhavan said “if necessary, such persons will also be examined”.

As for the involvement of foreign players, Madhavan said: “Foreigners do not come under the purview of the inquiry. But if assistance is sought by the respective investigating agencies, the BCCI will extend all assistance.”

After meeting Madhavan, Prabhakar declined to talk to the press but before his encounter with the former CBI Joint Director, he said the CBI report was full of inaccuracies.

Maintaining that he was not involved in match-fixing, the former all-rounder said the game was plagued by match-finding and betting. “The battle is over, but the war to cleanse the game is on,” he said.

Madhavan said he had already questioned BCCI Treasurer Kishore Rungta as there were some “oblique references” against him in the CBI report. The groundsman of the Ferozshah Kotla in New Delhi, Ram Adhar, had also been examined in the Union Capital, he said.

Madhavan said he would also question BCCI President A.C. Muthiah with regard to certain references about the board’s working in the CBI report. “If necessary, I will examine more officials in the matter”, Madhavan added.

He emphasised that he would assess the CBI report solely on its merit.

“Chennai was chosen as the venue for the inquiry as some players suggested it was a safe place for such meetings after having experienced some problems during press conferences in New Delhi,” he said.

While there was no word on Azhar, who has been elusive ever since the CBI report was made public, Madhavan said Ajay Sharma will be examined in Delhi as he cited health reasons for not being able to travel to Chennai.

Madhavan expressed apprehension about being able to submit his findings to the BCCI’s Disciplinary Committee as per schedule, in which he had to submit them before the board’s special general body meeting in Calcutta, as Azharuddin had so far not responded to his letter asking the cricketer to appear before him.

“Azhar will be given another opportunity to submit himself. Otherwise, I will be forced to go by his (Azhar) evidence, as reported by the CBI”, he said.

Asked what action the BCCI proposed to take (against Azhar) due to non-compliance of his request, Madhavan said: “It is left to the board to take whatever action it deems fit”. With Azhar failing to appear, Madhavan confined himself to grilling Prabhakar for nearly five hours.

Escorted away from waiting scribes at the hotel by police and hotel security personnel, Prabhakar had two sessions of discussions with Madhavan, according to BCCI sources.

After signing all documents submitted to Madhavan at the end of the second session, Prabhakar, on his way back to Delhi, told PTI at the airport, “this is the time to look for a fair decision by the BCCI commissioner. Madhavan has a good background as a CBI official and a thorough knowledge of the game. I hope for a fair decision now.”

Before presenting himself for the cross-examination by Madhavan, Prabhakar reiterated his charge that Indian cricket was plagued by match-fixing and betting while maintaining that he was not involved.

Asked to explain about the inaccuracies, he said it was obvious that they (CBI) had not seen the video cassettes handed over to them by him. “The report also does not reflect the evidences that I gave during my examination,” he added.

To a question on whether he would put any new evidence before Madhavan, Prabhakar said: “It all depends on how fair the cross-examination is going to be”.

In a separate interaction with the media, Madhavan said there was no information as yet from former captain Mohammed Azharuddin, who had also been summoned to appear before him.