DDCA row: Kirti Azad targets BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur

Suspended Bharatiya Janata Party MP Kirti Azad on Wednesday targeted more politicians, including party MP and BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur, involved in cricket governance and claimed the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) probe report had recommended “prosecution” of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the DDCA affairs. 

 

 

He also appeared to support Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s allegation that a DDCA official had sought sexual favours from a woman if she wanted her son to be part of its cricket team, saying he had raised a similar issue in 2007.

At a press conference, Mr. Azad quoted from the report of the SFIO and claimed that it had recommended “prosecution” of Mr. Jaitley among others but it has not been done in the last three years.

“Under the Companies Act, 1956, all the directors were to be assigned particular roles and if they are not, then the term [for action against them] is compounding. Twenty-seven executive members, including Jaitley, were not assigned any role. Twenty-four of them, including Jaitley did not compound.”

“So SFIO recommended that under Section 5 G of the Companies Act, the Registrar of Companies should prosecute them for not compounding. It shows the BCCI is above law. It has been three years since the recommendation but they have not been prosecuted,” he said.

When questioned on who the politicians were, he named Mr. Jaitley, Mr. Thakur, Rajeev Shukla, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Farooq Abdullah and Praful Patel.

All of them were then, and most still are, involved in cricket administration except Mr. Patel, who is All India Football Federation President.

Referring to Mr. Thakur, the three-time MP from Darbhagna, he said, “You cannot wear two caps. This is a conflict of interest. Either you are in Parliament or you are associated with a sports association.”

Mr. Azad told a press conference that the CBI had written to the DDCA on December 12, seeking its audit report between 2013-14 and alleged that such tactics were meant to delay the inquiry.

Mr. Jaitley and the DDCA have denied his charges.

The BJP has charged him with “anti-party activities” over his consistent attack on Mr. Jaitley over the alleged financial irregularities in the cricket body.