Dalmiya prepares to take on Sharad Pawar

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Kolkata, Jul 22 : Jagmohan Dalmiya came roaring back after a silence spanning 200 nights which were 'difficult days' for him.

And on Friday much like World Wrestling Entertainment star 'The Rock', he said, ''Just bring it.'' Jagmohan Dalmiya made it clear that he would rather fight Sharad Pawar's BCCI than take on Prasun Mukherjee in the CAB elections slated for July 28.

''I stand on a foundation of truth and truth alone. Truth will prevail. Justice will prevail. I have faith in the vibrant judiciary of the country and I was sure it will give me justice,'' he told UNI.

''Those were difficult days for me staying away from the sport I love so much. But I was not going to compromise on my self-dignity and accept the fabricated slur thrown at me,'' Dalmiya said his voice trembling with emotion.

''I spent most of the time concentrating on my business, my projects and gave time to my family. At the back of my mind, however, there was the shadow of the allegations, but I kept waiting silently,'' said the man who converted International Cricket Council (ICC) into a cash-cow and globalised the sport singlehandedly.

And like the 'Rock' he looked, when with clenched fists and a voice throbbing with raw assertion, he said, ''I will go all the way to see that those who consider BCCI as their personal property and bend rules for their vested interest are taken to the docks.'' He stepped down as CAB president on December 27, eleven days after he was expelled from BCCI and banned from holding any post in either the national body or any of its affiliated units. Since then an ominous silence loomed around his Theatre Road office in Central Kolkata and his Alipore residence in the southern part of the metro.

Dalmiya filed the case in January 2007 and the hearing went from February to June.

With Friday's judgement going his way, in all three cases, the BCCI has found itself floundering. First it had a beating before the Bombay High Court in the criminal case it had lodged against him.

Thereafter, the Supreme Court upheld the order of Bombay High Court and this time, Mr Dalmiya had such a huge relief from Calcutta High Court. In fact, Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya today filed an application against the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and its Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty for filing false affidavit and misleading the Hon'ble Calcutta High Court and committing perjury.

''I will ask them to just bring it and I will carry on with my battle against them. They can come again and again and again, but I will take them on. There is no going back. They have tried to ban me not only in this life but if possible in the next births as well,'' he said, reacting to the alleged witch-hunting practised by the ruling regime against him.

Asked about returning to CAB, he said, ''CAB is my home. I will be at its service anytime they want me. I stepped down as I didn't want CAB to be victimised for me. Now it is much more important to bring back democracy in the rule of the jungle which is BCCI. Somebody has to fight it. I have chosen to do so,'' Dalmiya said. Calcutta High Court on friday stayed Jagmohan Dalmiya's expulsion from BCCI, directing that he is free to contest any election of Indian cricket board or its affiliated units, while Dalmiya filed a perjury case against BCCI before the court. The application has been filed by Mr Dalmiya under section 340 of the CrPC which provides that a false statement made on oath in a pending proceeding is a serious cognizable offence.

The BCCI-Dalmiya saga, of course dates back to 2004 when Pawar entered the BCCI fray for the first time only to bite dust. Dalmiya won the first round when his casting vote had stymied Pawar's bid to wrest control after the presidential elections had resulted in a tie.

Pawar's revenge came a year later when he turned the tables on Dalmiya's man Ranbir Singh Mahendra quite comfortably. Thereafter, Pawar turned the heat on Dalmiya over the PILCOM accounts case.

Dalmiya presented his case quite a few times and in fact was able to get two hearings in his favour before being expelled from the BCCI on December 16, 2006, which also signalled his exit from the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB). Dalmiya on a comeback trail since then had filed a case in the High Court challenging the expulsion. Now, with the court staying his expulsion, Dalmiya has shown that the BCCI had erred by writing him off so soon.

Now with both even stevens, the war is spicing with the CAB elections just for the starters. CAB President Prasun Mukherjee, also the city police commissioner, already made a blunder by naming a known Dalmiya loyalist and incumbent Joint-secretary Amitava Banerjee as his candidate. Now with Saradindu Pal and Biswarup Dey filing nominations from the Dalmiya faction, he is left with Samar Pal only who has never won at CAB. If the pitch remains this queered then he might end up with two joint-secretaries from the opposition lobby making life difficult for him.

The good thing is Dalmiya is not interested in CAB now.

With battlelines drawn firmly the country can gear up for another mercury-raising courtroom drama that will bring either the original 'Big D' of cricket back at the helm or see the current regime swell to unprecedented heights.

UNI




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