Lodha panel not to communicate till pledge to implement reforms
NEW DELHI: The Justice RM Lodha Committee has decided not to communicate with the Indian cricket board until it pledges compliance with the Supreme Court’s October 21 order to follow the panel’s recommendations to usher in reforms.
The Apex Court has directed that the board cannot implement any major decision until it ends its opposition to implementing the Lodha panel recommendations. The state units must individually pledge their commitment to be allowed to use funds received from the BCCI.
The board, vehemently opposed to the administrative reforms spelt out by the SC panel, took its first big hit last month after it was forced to cancel the bidding process for the mega IPL media rights last month.
The court ordered the BCCI to take directions from the Lodha committee on major financial decisions, but the panel didn’t respond as the sports body has not agreed to implement its decisions.
The latest decision by the Lodha panel could further choke the BCCI’s functioning as it can’t finalise various contracts for the international series at home. In its October 21 order, the court instructed BCCI president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke to appear before the committee within two weeks (by Nov 3) to explain the steps taken to comply with the panel’s recommendations.
“The BCCI president and secretary haven’t appeared before the panel yet and we have also not called them so far,” Justice Lodha told HT. “We wanted the president to first give us an undertaking on behalf of the BCCI that they would comply with the order of the Supreme Court.”
The Apex Court had on July 18 ratified the Lodha panel recommendations and instructed the board to implement them but the BCCI refused. Following this, the Lodha panel filed a status report in October asking for the top office-bearers to be replaced by administrators.
“The president (Anurag Thakur) did send one reply but that was ambiguous. On October 29, we again asked them that we want an absolutely unambiguous and unquenchable undertaking by the president on behalf of the BCCI which is yet to come,” Justice Lodha said.
The Supreme Court has also given the Lodha panel freedom to receive the advice of auditors on the fairness of the BCCI’s tendering process.
The BCCI is primarily opposed to Lodha panel’s suggestion for one vote per state, one vote per office-bearer and a cooling period of three years after each term. No one above the age of 70 can hold a post in the board or its affiliates.
The president (Anurag Thakur) did send one reply but that was ambiguous. On Oct 29, we again asked them that we want an absolutely unambiguous undertaking by the president on behalf of the BCCI which is yet to come
JUSTICE (RETD) RM LODHA, on how BCCI has been dilly-dallying