Kalmadi backs off
Says he will wait for cases to clear a day after furore
New Delhi, Dec. 28: Suresh Kalmadi chose to back off but Abhay Singh Chautala remained defiant even as the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Wednesday invited the Sports Ministry’s wrath and widespread outrage for its inexplicable decision to make the scamtainted duo its Life Presidents.
Kalmadi and Chautala were elevated to the position at the IOA’s Annual General Meeting in Chennai on Tuesday, stunning the Indian sporting landscape and leaving the Sports Ministry fuming.
As the storm gained in intensity on Wednesday, Kalmadi chose to step aside even as Chautala remained adamant. “I thank the Indian Olympic Association for conferring the honour of Life President on me. However, I do not feel that it would be appropriate for me to accept this honour at this time,” Kalmadi said in a letter addressed to IOA president N. Ramachandran.
“I am confident that my name will be cleared and I will defer acceptance of the honour till such time,” he added.
However, Chautala refused to budge. “Kalmadi may have declined to accept the position (of Life President) because there was accusations regarding Commonwealth Games and so related to sports issues. My case is different,” he said.
“I was elected as IOA President (in December 2012) but due to unreasonable interference from International Olympic Committee, I left the post. So, if all the past presidents can be made Life President why could I not be?” he asked.
A top IOA official, who did not wish to be named, said this annulment is the technical reason why Chautala should never have been made Life President in the first place. “Why is everybody forgetting that the IOC, a day after IOA was suspended, had declared that the election of Chautala and Lalit Bhanot as president and secretary general was null and void? The IOC had refused to recognise Chautala-led dispensation and had communicated with V.K. Malhotra only,” he said.
“So, under the IOA Constitution, only a person who has been a president can only be made Life President. Chautala was never a president of the IOA and so can how he be made a Life President?” the official asked.
There has been speculation that Chautala was elevated as Life President to placate him so that he does not create any further problem in the IOA giving recognition to the newly-formed Boxing Federation of India.
The erstwhile Indian Amateur Boxing Federation, of which Chautala was a former president, is still recognised by the IOA as the NSF for boxing event though it has been derecognised by the world body AIBA and the Sports Ministry. Sources said IOA is now inclined to consider BFI’s application for recognition positively. —
I was surprised by the reaction of Sports Minister Vijay Goel. He was claiming that there are criminal and corruption cases against me. The case against me is not a criminal case, it is a political case. I would advise him to fulfill his responsibility as Sports Minister because if he does that, our medal count will increase manifold and he will get credit for that. He should focus on his job. Their (Kalmadi and Chautala) guilt is a matter of trial but I think it (elevation in IOA) was avoidable and they should not have done it. In theory, sports bodies are independent but for all events, they need state funding. The government can stop funding but it will only hurt Indian sports. It’s a difficult situation.