Sanjeev Gupta’s admission of filing complaints on behalf of others should be investigated, urges Aditya Verma
Aditya Verma had waged a lone battle against old guards of the BCCI
|IPL Petitioner Aditya Verma has stated that Sanjeev Gupta’s admission in a letter to MPCA members that he was filing complaints on behalf of others should be investigated. Verma has also added that Sanjeev Gupta has become a tool in some disgruntled people’s hands abusing Supreme Court orders.
Even though the Lodha Committee did everything legally to upset the established order mired with archaic management, they faced massive roadblocks in thetthe shape of the old guard of the organisation. Eventually, when the Supreme Court thought everything had been placed in order, they were given a check-mate in a stunning fashion which saw the family members taking over the onus in state associations. It is hard to imagine if anything else could cause a bigger mess than this but an MPCA life-member, whose complaints in the Conflict of Interest issues ensured many former players had to relinquish their positions in the board, did that quite successfully.
The latest who has come under the scanner of the BCCI Ombudsman after Sanjeev Gupta raised a complaint is none other than Virat Kohli, whose associations with Cornerstone LLP and Virat Kohli LLP, as Gupta complaint, has come under the BCCI scanner. While the hearing is still pending, IPL petitioner Verma, who had his own share of controversies after raising complaints about many BCCI bigwigs in the past, said that Gupta’s letter to Jyotiraditya Scindia and Sanjay Jagdale about he filing on other people’s behalf should be investigated by the board.
"This (the mail) is a sure admission by Sanjeev Gupta that he has been lending his services as a gun for hire to raise frivolous issues against individuals in his association and the same things he must be doing in BCCI also,” Verma told IANS.
"This is interference with the administration of justice and is not only frustrating the working of the BCCI and state associations but is also playing havoc with the sincere implementation of the Supreme Court's orders with disgruntled people abusing the said orders and Sanjeev Gupta becoming a tool in their hands for such abuse.”
"The court must order an inquiry into this serious matter. I also request Sourav Ganguly and Jay Shah to immediately constitute a panel to investigate this and identify who all are behind and take strict action against such individuals who are helping people to taint BCCI, its office bearers, cricketers and other state associations. Indian cricket is paramount and no one's personal agenda can be bigger than the game of cricket," he explained.
While some of the big names in Indian cricket like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid, and Kapil Dev were at the receiving end of Gupta’s complaints, Verma appealed that the BCCI should investigate on whose behest did the MPCA life member file those cases.
"In the past, Gupta has filed complaints against great legendary players like Tendulkar, (VVS) Laxman, Dravid and others. Now one needs to ask a question, were those complaints also motivated or filed at the behest of someone else? Was Gupta's name only a front and someone else was behind it? It would be interesting to know who all have used his 'services' till date," he pointed.
"Once again I appeal to officials of MPCA to take actions against Gupta as MPCA is an affiliated unit of BCCI, and if their Life Member is acting against the interest of BCCI, he should be expelled immediately," he added.
