NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 30: Pressure is building on the Sports Ministry and the cricket board to let Ajay Jadeja off with merely a slap on the wrist rather than any ``harsh'' punishment.This is being attributed to Jadeja's friends in ``high places'' thanks to his close association with Aditi, daughter of Jaya Jaitly, chief of the Samata Party, a member of the ruling coalition. Jaitly, incidentally, has been stridently supporting Jadeja right from the day the controversy broke.Sources said Sports Minister Uma Bharati was called by Jaitly's party colleague and Defence Minister George Fernandes at his South Block office this afternoon. The two are understood to have discussed the match-fixing report and the allegations against Jadeja. The CBI had alleged that Jadeja had links with several bookies and was one of the players named by Azharuddin as having been involved in match-fixing.When contacted by The Indian Express, Bharati declined to go into the details of her meeting with Fernandes. The Defence Minister was unavailable for comment.Sources said that what figured high in the discussion was a 10-page ``defence'' of Ajay Jadeja recently sent to Bharati's office. In this he has alleged that the agency is biased against him and that the Government had no business making the CBI report public.Jadeja's main grouse against the CBI is that it did not believe Prabhakar's allegations against Kapil Dev but believed Azhar's insinuations against Jadeja. ``Everyone's denials including those of (Navjot Singh) Sidhu, Kapil and Nikhil Chopra are accepted by the CBI in its final analysis of the evidence. All those are exonerated for lack of evidence yet the only one about whom they have denials and no evidence who is left with a negative image is Jadeja,'' the note says.Sources close to Bharati said that the Minister would like to take the match-fixing probe to its ``logical conclusion'' but her efforts have run into political raodblocks.As per the Law Ministry's recommendation, the Ministry can strip the indicted players of their honours including Arjuna Awards only after the BCCI announces its punitive action. That may take some time coming given the BCCI's dithering yesterday.Sources said that Jadeja's clout is one reason the BCCI deferred a decision on punitive action against the indicted players. Former MP Kamal Morarka, now a BCCI member, is learnt to have strongly protested against a five-year ban on Jadeja. If the CBI took six months to complete its probe, what was the hurry for the BCCI to decide the quantum of punishment on the basis of Madhavan's findings, he argued.Morarka also cited example of other countries which let off their players with milder punishment for similar offences. Another member feared that since the CBI report had no legal validity - since no regular case was filed -action taken on its basis might not stand legal scrutiny. His main questions: Why did the Government allow the ‘‘flimsy CBI report’’ to be made public? Why has the Government not inquired into its leakage? As per opinion of Solicitor General, the report has no legal basis, then how can it be used to destroy reputations and careers? Why did the CBI believe what Azhar said about Jadeja, discounting what Prabhakar said about Kapil Dev? It is an example of CBI’s bias. Bookie Rajesh Kalra admits speaking to Nikhil Chopra but the latter is absolved. Jadeja is booked for receiving only one phone call from Kalra. Again a case of bias.
