Govt will not interfere, says Minister

The Minister of State for Sports Sayeed Shahnawaz Hussain stated clearly in Calcutta on Friday that the Government will not interfere in the judicial process against cricketers if they are found guilty of match fixing. However, he feels, that the government should wait for the CBI to complete their investigations.

The Minister, who is at present visiting different SAI centres in this part of the country stated, "At present it has become a fashion for convicted cricketers to name other players. Under these circumstances, it is better to allow the CBI to carry out their investigation." When asked whether the cricketers would be punished if found guilty, Hussain replied, "They will be disciplined according to the constitution of the country. The government will not interfere with the prosecution against the guilty. However, at this moment, it is inappropriate to comment on Hansie Cronje naming Mohammed Azharuddin in the betting scandal. It has become a fashion these days for guilty cricketers to implicate others."

However, even as ICC President Jagmohan Dalmiya , passed off the latest development stating that "The ICC is keeping a watch on the developments," one former Bengal cricketer has come out very strongly against the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Gopal Bose, who has represented India in unofficial Tests and is also a member of the Pitch Committee appointed by the BCCI has in his column in the Bengali daily Aajkaal hit out at the Board for not doing anything in the match fixing scandal.