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Sahara Group lashes out at Dalmiya

The ongoing tussle between International Cricket Council president Jagmohan Dalmiya and the Sahara Group, over staging the Sahara Cup cricket tournament in Toronto, has deepened, with chairman Subrata Roy categorically denying his company was trying to hold the tournament.

Roy, in a statement in Lucknow today, said: "Sahara India has not discussed the issue with anybody, including its advertising agency, Percept."

He reacted sharply to Dalmiya's statement that Sanjay Lal, an executive of the agency, had written to International Management Group (IMG) reiterating Sahara's commitment to hold the tournament.

Dalmiya had also distributed the copies of the letter, dated July 29, and said that since the Kargil conflict was over, the Sahara Group was adopting double standards by making efforts to hold the series.

Roy disputed the correctness of the letter, saying the letter only contained a request to IMG not to accept the offer of a Pakistani businessman-owned DBS Group, which had reportedly volunteered to organise the one-day series between India and Pakistan.

''We strongly condemn Mr Dalmiya's statement accusing Sahara of double standards, basing its conclusion on one individual's incorrect letter to IMG,'' he said.

Roy further clarified: "There was no question of staging the Sahara Cup, but our concern was that IMG, the event manager, should not unnecessarily lose their ground in India by accepting any Pakistani company as sponsor and cause unintentional provocation of India's emotion under today's circumstances. Some Percept executive might have placed it in its own way, keeping there own business interest in mind.

"Mr Dalmiya has jumped for the tournament by just getting a tiny support of one incorrect letter of an agency," he said.

The Sahara release added: "We had never expected Mr Dalmiya to react so lowly against Sahara just on the basis of an individual's letter and we are still surprised that only on the basis of the letter, a man of his stature should forget the supreme sacrifice of our brave soldiers and advocate for a cricket tournament between India and Pakistan," the statement said.

Roy suggested, "We all, as a nation, should not waste any more time and energy discussing this matter and rather concentrate on being good citizens and help our motherland fight major issues."

UNI