'The big fish in the TV scam is Dalmiya'
November 16, 2000, 1300 hours IST, Bangalore: Mr Arun Aggarwal, the man who exposed the Television Rights Scandal, involving some of the biggest names in Indian sports, especially cricket, wasted no time in the Chat, answering questions as soon as they were posted. And best of all, unlike other serving officials, he did not pull punches, calling a spade a spade... and a thief a thief!
kamal (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:28 PST)
sir, do you think
azhar could have fixed matches without the board knowing? Are they also not
guilty of complicity?
Arun Aggarwal (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:32 PST)
Good afternoon everyone!
Kamal, I went into the telecast scam, and so I am not in a
position to comment on this. But seeing the manner in which the board tried to
cover up for the players, Indians and foreign, it is a distinct possibility that
they were also interested in the betting and the outcome of the matches and
hence involved
kamal (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:27 PST)
why did it take so
long to raid dalmekala
Arun Aggarwal (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:33 PST)
Kamal, Raiding Dalmia within three months of the matter being
referred to CBI was fast enough!
Parul (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 22:47 PST)
Mr AGarwal: Why
are you not in Delhi and helping IB nd CBI guys?
Arun Aggarwal (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:34 PST)
Parul, if they ask me, I will go down to Delhi.
abc (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:12 PST)
Sir, will we finally
see Jagmohan Dalmiya and others in the BCCI go to jail? Why should only
cricketers be blamed?
Arun Aggarwal (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:35 PST)
ABC, that was precisely the reason why I made the report public
wihout caring for the Govt protocol.
cricket (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:34 PST)
how did you fPST
come across the scam that was taking place
Arun Aggarwal (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:36 PST)
Cricket,after being appointed by the Board of Prasar Bharathi, as
the then CEO DR Kejriwal had smelt something fishy and therefore asked for my
appointment.
Sourav Roy (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:25 PST)
what action
will be taken against the guilty and what is the time fram that we r looking at?
Arun Aggarwal (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:37 PST)
Sourav Roy, that is left to the investigating authorities.
However, they need not prove corruption. All that has to be proven is that
benefits at the expense of national exchequer were passed on to private parties
in order to be charged under 13-1D of Prevention of Corruption Act.
kamal (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:23 PST)
so what is the
involvement of jagmohan dalmiya - dal mein kala
Arun Aggarwal (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:38 PST)
Kamal, after all Amul was right! And so was Kurien in ssaying
which Dalmiya!
cricket (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:36 PST)
could the
cricket administrators also be involved?
cricket (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:36 PST)
if they are
involved to what extent
Arun Aggarwal (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:40 PST)
Cricket, yes, the cricket adminstrators are very much involved
because most of them know nothing about cricket and are industrialists who know
how to count money only! In fact, the present president of BCCI Mr Muthiah is
facing CBI investigation on fertiliser scam of SPIC involving hundreds of
crores.
cricket (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:37 PST)
like what was
the first true saboot you got
Arun Aggarwal (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:41 PST)
Cricket, the first saboot I got was that there was a sports
consortium agreement entered into in March 1998 and the same was not even
brought to the notice of the then CEO one year after the existence of the
contract. This showed that all his subordinates were involved in deliberately
suppressing facts from him.
abc (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:38 PST)
sir, besides
cricket, are there any other games where Doordarshan was involved in scams?
Arun Aggarwal (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:42 PST)
ABC, yes, certainly. In all the sports events between 1998 and
World Cup 1999 when the scam was discovered. In fact, two FIRs related to
Wimbledon and the French Open are now there.
kamal (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:39 PST)
thanks for the
reply sir. is Jagmohan involved alone or are there others with him from the
Board.
Arun Aggarwal (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:45 PST)
Kamal, a good question. The fact that Jagmohan Dalmiya continues to
enjoy the confidence of the Board clearly shows that the entire Board is
involved and they support him because of the fringe financial benefits that
accrue to them. The fact that they elected him and money is spent in the
elections clearly shows that they are involved. In fact, I have been campaigning
for the supercession of the Board and replacing them with men of known
integrity.
manjunath (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:39 PST)
who all r
involved in this, which bcci officials involved.how many indian players are
involved in this cave of match fixing
Arun Aggarwal (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:46 PST)
Manjunath, match fixing is a subject that I am not investigating.
Venkat (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:40 PST)
Mr Aggarwal What
is the realistic chance of Mr Dalmia being convicted? Has any evidence been
collected in the recent raids?
Arun Aggarwal (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:47 PST)
Venkat, the chances of Mr Dalmiya being convicted revolve around
his links with World Tel. If that can be established through bank accounts, he
will definitely be convicted.
Ameet (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:43 PST)
Dear Sir, Why is
everybody surprised with Scam. At every level in our society corruption is
rampant. All the ministers and buerocrats who are projecting themselves as goods
themselves are involved in some way with corruption.
Arun Aggarwal (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:48 PST)
Ameet, because it involves cricket and national snetiment, it is
so. In fact, I have busted scams involving 30,000 crores in Cogentrix and 20,000
crores in Almatti power project, and very few know about these scams or connect
me with having busted them.
Bandmaster (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:45 PST)
Is there a
mechanism to overthrow the board and reconstitute another one?
Arun Aggarwal (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:49 PST)
Bandmaster, yes, there is. The Govt has the powers to do so, under
the BCCI rules itself.
suresh (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:46 PST)
sir , is cricket
still a game of sportmanship.
Arun Aggarwal (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:50 PST)
Suresh, wherever there is big money, sportsmanship becomes
difficult to enforce. There is sportsmanship only in pursuing the betting result
in which both the sides maybe involved.
anujpandey (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:46 PST)
Do you think
justice will be made or the entire sum which one made will now be distributed to
everyone, like politicians, media, who knows CBI....
Arun Aggarwal (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:51 PST)
Anuj Pandey, so far things have been proceeding correctly. One can
never vouch for the future. However, the Govt may not be interested in a cover
up as it may cost them votes!
bharat (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:48 PST)
sir, why is no
one from Mandi House been put in jail all these years despite looting the
country of crores of rupees?
Arun Aggarwal (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:53 PST)
Bharat, the Mandi House is a corrupt organisation and it has been
an open secret. It is unfortunate that it never had an honest CEO and everyone
was interested in the spoils. In fact, the name of Mandi House in Delhi starts
with R instead of M!
MK Azharuddin (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:51 PST)
and dude
dont u think betting should be legalised?
Arun Aggarwal (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:55 PST)
MKA, if it honest betting, nothing wrong with it. But as the
saying goes, never bet on something which can talk, meaning human beings.
keshu (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:51 PST)
Why ppl like Azar
and Jadeja are fallen for match fixing?
Arun Aggarwal (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:56 PST)
Keshu, greed has no end to it. God had been kind to them and they
should have counted their blessings.
cricket (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:51 PST)
but who stands
to lose the most because of the scam
Arun Aggarwal (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:57 PST)
Cricket, cricket definitely is the loser. But then it is good for
the nation as the whole country was wasting too much time on it!
keshu (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:53 PST)
Arun Agarval what
do u think rite punishment for Azar, Jadeja etc
Arun Aggarwal (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:59 PST)
Keshu, they should surrender all their ill gotten wealth
voluntarily to charity and ask for national forgiveness. I am sure the people
would forgive them if they had the large heartedness to do so.
MK Azharuddin (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:55 PST)
what bout
lele? usse to saab bookie "paisa lele lele" kehte hai
Arun Aggarwal (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:0 PST)
MKA, how could Lele not be involved with the novel and and
incredulous he used to come out with while defending the players?
Ameet (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:55 PST)
Match Fixing as
well as TV Scam .The big fish in both scams are missing? So who is it Sir?
Arun Aggarwal (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:1 PST)
Ameet, the big fish in the TV scam is Dalmiya. And FIR has been
filed against him. Let us see if he is convicted.
jamesbond (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:58 PST)
I say old chap, you're rather propah, aren't you? You are not
answering any questions of mine? But do tell me, is that fat creep Lele involved
in all this. My investigations tell me he is the right hand man of Dalmiya.
Arun Aggarwal (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:2 PST)
Jamesbond, I have already answered abt Lele.
Rangarajan (Thu Nov 16, 2000, 23:58 PST)
do you feel
that Board is also not part of this deal...as Justice Chandrachud comittee
report is an eye wash...
Arun Aggarwal (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:4 PST)
Rangarajan, it only shows that justices are not the proper persons
for an investigation which has to be left to the professional agencies. They can
only decide a case where they have inputs from both the sides.
zoro (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:4 PST)
Why no bookies are
being punished.. Giving bribe ( or betting money ) is equally or even more
offence...
Arun Aggarwal (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:5 PST)
Zoro, bookies are not being punished because the offence is more
than six months old and hence they cannot be charged.
Samp (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:1 PST)
Hi Arun, Congrats on
your bravism! How much money you think they have been gobbled in this scam?
Arun Aggarwal (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:5 PST)
Samp, abt 100 crores in the telecast scam if not more.
qwe (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:3 PST)
ARUN...what do u think
the outcome will be?
Arun Aggarwal (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:6 PST)
qwe: DD officials will definitely get convicted.
veereswararao (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:5 PST)
India and
the whole world should recognise the cricket is a foolish game. the people will
become adict,lazy and corrupt. are you agree with this or not.
Arun Aggarwal (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:7 PST)
Veereswararao, I agree with you and I have stopped watching
cricket ever since I wrote that report.
Rajdeep (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:5 PST)
With the big fish,
Dalmia, what other members of the school were in the class, was I S Bindra in the
know?
Arun Aggarwal (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:9 PST)
Rajdeep, Bindra basically fell out with Dalmiya in a power
struggle and then chose to spill the beans. In fact, Bindra was more on the
adminstrative side than on the financial side. Therefore he may not have had an
idea of what was really going on.
Rangarajan (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:5 PST)
do we still
need believe Prabhakar ????
Arun Aggarwal (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:12 PST)
Rangarajan, part of the reason why Prabhakar spilled the beans was
because he thought he had been ill-treated by the Board and also by Kapil. At
the same time, he felt that he could get away with it while indicting others.
However, whatever may have been his motives, he did a great service.
lenin patra (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:6 PST)
hi arun kudos
to u for ur heroic deeds .by thw way,what r u thinking abt azhar,do u think he's
the only guilty cricketer to involve in match fixing.
Arun Aggarwal (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:13 PST)
Lenin Patra, no definitely not. It is not a coincidence that all
the foreign players named in the CBI report were either captains or Vice
Captains of their teams and therefore were most suitably placed to fix matches.
This point has been missed by the CBI.
hh (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:9 PST)
What do you think about
Kapil on his involvement in match fixing scandal
Arun Aggarwal (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:15 PST)
hh, Kapil was definitely not involved in the early part of his
career because he played too well. In the later part, one does not know. His
problem is that he has made a lot of money in business and all of that may not
be white, and hence can be attributed to match-fixing.
nansrini (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:10 PST)
Aggarwalji,
firslty accept my congrats. And don't you think that government should give some
kind security to honest people like you.
Arun Aggarwal (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:18 PST)
Nansrini, no amount of security is sufficient in this country. The
three most protected persons IG, RG and Beant Singh were not saved by
protection. In modern India, we have to be prepared for the risks you take while
busting scams. However, I wish that the ministry would officially acknowledge my
efforts and reimburse the expenses incurred by me in writing the report and
defending myself against criminal prosecution by the cuplrits.
das (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:12 PST)
Don't you think what
is going on is good for the country ? If cricket gets such a bad name that it's
wiped out, we'll save lakhs of man hours normally lost in watching and talking
about cricket.
Arun Aggarwal (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:20 PST)
Das, you have answered yr own question. If cricket loses, its good
for the country.
Rajdeep (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:21 PST)
Mr. Aggarwal, I
feel that the rot in cricket started with the change of administration, when
Dalmiya came to power, ironically the globalisation and the money in cricket is
also credited to him
Arun Aggarwal (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:22 PST)
Rajdeep, Dalmiya is a shrewd man. Globalisation was a facade.
through which telecast rights could be appropriated by ICC and middle men
introduced to rake in profits. Dalmiya gained both ways through middle men and
also as an adminstrator. His talk abt globalisation and setting up of Asia
Cricket Union is an extension of the scam.
Vineet Kumar (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:21 PST)
Hi Mr.
Agarwal. Do you feel that CBI tried to hide some big players in it's report on
match fixing? and Do you feel that current team doesn't have any match fixer in
it ?
Arun Aggarwal (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:24 PST)
Vineet Kumar, it may not have done so deliberately, as it is very
difficult to get records and interview bookies who may have been involved five
to 10 yrs back, when Kapil and others were playing.
sonali (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:19 PST)
will the players
be punished?
Arun Aggarwal (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:26 PST)
Sonali, the players can be punished, but it appears that they may
not be punished. The reason for the same is that though they are covered under
the definition of public servants, according to the prevention of corruption
act, the same is not being applied to them. The PCA specifically states that any
person who is in service or is being paid by a body aided by the Govtis a public
servant. It also states that any person who has a public duty is a public
servant. Both these definitions apply to the cricketeers.
Rajdeep (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:26 PST)
The CBI is as
convenient as the players,"Oh the calls were for good luck" My foot
Arun Aggarwal (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:28 PST)
Rajdeep, I thought Jadeja was smarter. Nobody will buy the silly
excuse he gave for receiving the phone calls.
Rajdeep (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:28 PST)
But Arun what
would be the legal meaning of "aided by the government"
Arun Aggarwal (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:29 PST)
Rajdeep, BCCI is aided by the Govt in that they get IT exemption
and are leased massive tracts of prime land for a nominal fee.
Vineet Kumar (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:27 PST)
Why
Prabhakar raised match fixing issue when he himself was involved in match-fixing
? Was he so sure that he won't be caught ? Can you tell about his mentality ?
Arun Aggarwal (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:30 PST)
Vineet Kumar, Prabhakar thoughtr that since he was busting the
scam, nobody wd suspect him/. His calculations went wrong. But then he still did
a great service.
lkp (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:29 PST)
Why is it that the
BCCI always constitutes of people who have the least knowlegde in cricket.
J Dalmiya doesnt even have a good English. His talk during the world cup finals
was so funny!!!! When will the selection committe and BCCI constitute of people
having a wealth of experience in Cricket
Arun Aggarwal (Fri Nov 17 19100 0:32 PST)
LKP, this will be my last question. You are right. It will need
Govt intervention and tough talking to make selections free from influence and
bias and quota system which prevails. One believes that players like Yuvraj
Singh's debut were delayed merely because he belonged to Bindra's association.
So, everyone, thanks for asking me such interesting and well informed questions. I
enjoyed talking to you. Goodbye.
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