Govt will consider taking back Arjuna awards -- Dhindsa

Govt will consider taking back Arjuna awards -- Dhindsa
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

NEW DELHI, NOV 3: The Government will consider taking back the Arjuna Awards given to tainted cricketers after perusing the response of the BCCI to the CBI report on match-fixing, Sports Minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa said today after meeting Cricket Board president A C Muthaiah.

``We will consider taking back the Arjuna Awards only after the BCCI gives us its detailed response to the role of the players, mentioned in the CBI report on match-fixing, after conducting an internal inquiry,'' Dhindsa told reporters after a 30-minute meeting with BCCI president Muthaiah here.

The players, who have been named in the match-fixing report and have received Arjuna Awards, were Mohammed Azharuddin in 1986, Manoj Prabhakar in 1983, Ajay Jadeja in 1997 and Nayan Mongia in 1998.

Dhindsa said ``Muthaiah assured me that BCCI will submit its repsonse to the Sports Ministry on each and every aspect of the report, including its adverse remarks against the Board.''

However, he expressed happiness over the prompt action taken by the BCCI in suspending the players named in the CBI report from playing any domestic or international tournament, conducted by BCCI or its affiliates.

Asked whether the Government was considering having some control on the affairs of the BCCI in the light of severe strictures by CBI on the way the Cricket Board was managed, Dhindsa said, ``The Government will make up its mind only after a debate in public and Parliament.''

He said the BCCI president told him that from now onwards every international cricket match would be closely-watched by Vigilance Commissioners from the two countries playing the match to curb the menace of match-fixing.

``Besides this, Muthaiah told me that the ICC will be convening a special meeting of the Vigilance Commissioners of the representative Boards some time in December this year,'' Dhindsa said.

Asked whether there was an urgent need for a new law to deter players from indulging in this malpractice, the Sports Minister said, ``If there is a requirement of a new law for checking match-fixing, we will enact that but only after the report is discussed threadbare by the public and in Parliament.''

He said Muthaiah told him that the BCCI shared the Government's concern over the ``not so happy'' findings of the CBI on the manner in which one of the most popular games in the country was played.

``Muthaiah assured me of the BCCI's cooperation with the Government at all times to come in the efforts to root out corruption in the game of cricket,'' Dhindsa said.

Asked about the prospects of Indian Cricket Team touring Pakistan, the Sports Minister said, ``The proposal is under consideration of the Government and the Ministries of Home Affairs and External Affairs are also involved in the decision-making process.''

To a question whether the match-fixing controversy would affect the tour, Dhindsa replied in the negative. When told that Pakistan Cricket Board has expressed its desire to tour India if the Indian team's tour got cancelled, Dhindsa said he could not comment on this.

Asked what concrete steps would be taken by the Government in the end, he said, ``Once we have some thing in black and white, which will be very soon, it will be implemented very strictly.''

CBI, in its report, had named five Indian players - Azhar, Jadeja, Ajay Sharma, Nayan Mongia and Manoj Prabhakar, apart from nine overseas players. The agency had also severely criticised the BCCI, starting from selection of coaches to the way it ``sold Indian Cricket''.