PTI

'If everybody goes to court how can we function?' - Dalmiya

Jagmohan Dalmiya slammed the Kalighat Cricket Club for taking the BCCI to court

PTI
21-Sep-2005


Jagmohan Dalmiya is not a happy chappie © AFP
Jagmohan Dalmiya, the former president of the Indian board, has slammed the Kalighat Cricket Club, an affiliate of the Cricket Association of Bengal for taking the BCCI to court. "We have got 250 clubs, schools and district associations. If everybody goes to court then how can we function?" said Dalmiya, who is also the president of the CAB. The Kalighat club went to court and succeeded in having an observer appointed for the BCCI elections to be held tomorrow.
Interestingly, Bablu Kolay, a former CAB joint secretary and Dalmiya loyalist, is the general secretary of the Kalighat club, which filed a petition in the Calcutta High Court seeking appointment of an observer to deal with any dispute during the election process.
In a separate but related development the Madras High Court restrained the board from holding elections till 12.30pm tomorrow. Justice M Thanickachalam gave this interim order on a civil suit filed by Netaji Cricket Club, seeking appointment of a neutral person to conduct the elections and to decide the eligibility of the voters and the contestants. Reserving his order, the judge said he would pronounce his verdict at 11am tomorrow.
Dalmiya publicly condemned the new tendency among clubs to move the court against the country's apex cricketing body. "Suddenly clubs have started going to courts. Time has come when the board should say that all affiliate units should come and and talk with it and work out solutions to their problems," he said. On the Kalighat club moving the court and getting Suhash Chandra Sen, a retired Supreme Court judge, appointed as observer, he said "I cannot welcome this. It shows bankruptcy of the quality of administration in BCCI".
Asked whether he was in favour of elections at the board's AGM, Dalmiya replied, "People should not be allowed to go away without elections. An election must happen. If we have to wait for seven days for elections to take place, we should wait".