Cong Wants to Lift Ban on Azhar
The ruling congress party is trying to rescind the life ban imposed on former Indian cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin.
It may be mentioned that Azharuddin, a congress MP from Moradabad in UP, is currently serving a life ban by the BCCI for his involvement in the match fixing scandal that rocked Indian cricket in 2000.
At the point of time, Ajay Sharma, another former cricketer, was also served the same punishment while Ajay Jadeja and Manoj Prabhakar were handed five-year ban each.
Nine years ago, the BCCI had blacklisted Azharuddin through a unanimous resolution. However, congress leaders say that most of the cricketers having faced identical charges have been accepted back.
A group of Congress MPs from UP met the International Cricket Council Vice-President Sharad Pawar on Friday. They have asked Pawar, who is a leading politician and a former Board president, to use his influence with the BCCI.
The MPs include Jitin Prasad, BCCI’s Finance committee Chairman Rajiv Shukla and actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar.
BCCI Vice-President Rajiv Shukla said that the ban on Azharuddin can be lifted if the AGM deems it fit.
“I spoke to BCCI President Shashank Manohar, and he said that if Azhar himself shows interest in wanting the ban to be lifted then it can be moved forward to the Annual General Meeting and then the AGM will have to decide,” Shukla said.
