Gavaskar not harrassed: Arun Jaitley

Union Minister for Law and Justice Arun Jaitley, who is also president of the Delhi and District Cricket Association, denied that cricketing legend Sunil Gavaskar was stopped at the gates of the Ferozeshah Kotla ground by securitymen and prevented from entering the stadium.

The Kotla was the venue of the fifth one day international between India and England on January 31.

As per media reports, Gavaskar was stopped at the Kotla gates and refused admittance even after the yesteryears star revealed his identity. A DDCA official subsequently came out with a golden pass to procure entry for Gavaskar.

Jaitley told rediff.com that he had met Gavaskar after the match, and the latter had not mentioned any such incident, much less complained. "I have seen media reports that Gavaskar was stopped at the gates, but what appears in the media is not necessarily true," the minister maintained.

Jaitley in turn accused sports scribes of putting up false reports that people holding legitimate tickets were denied entry into the stadium while those without tickets got to watch the game.

Asked to comment on reports that large numbers of MPs had asked for free passes, Jaitley snapped back, "Not only parliamentarians, even journalists approached me for passes."

Attempts to contact Sunil Gavaskar were in vain as he refused to take calls.

While the jury is still out on whether or not Gavaskar was humiliated, the incident is not without precedent.

Some years ago, former India captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi was stopped at the Kotla gates by securitymen. A DDCA official came to Pataudi's rescue before the situation got out of hand.

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