BCCI chief Johri may have to quit
STATE BODIES SEEK SUSPENSION OF CEO AMID #METOO CHARGES
Rahul Johri, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief executive officer, who has been implicated in the #MeToo campaign is likely to lose his post.
Seven state associations of the BCCI are understood to have written to the Committee of Administrators (CoA), the body responsible for the day-to-day functioning of the board, to immediately suspend Johri after he was accused of sexual harassment by a woman during his stint at Discovery Channel.
As soon as the allegation was made, Johri was given a week by the COA to give an explanation. On October 12 Johri was named in a Twitter post by author Harnidh Kaur, who shared screenshots of a detailed account of the victim on her Twitter handle. Johri has been accused of taking advantage of the victim by promising her a job.
The CoA formed a threemember panel to probe the allegations. Former women’s cricket captain Diana Edulji is a member of that panel. Edulji, along with the seven state associations wanted Johri sacked, but CoA chairman Vinod Rai said that he would want a probe before any action is taken against Johri.
Call for inquiry
The three-member panel has been given 15 days to submit a report, According to information, Johri submitted his explanation on October 20 denying he had harassed the lady. The CoA had met immediately after his explanation and Edulji, who is a member of CoA, is understood to have demanded Johri’s resignation. The CoA’s contention is that an independent inquiry is essential as it is an anonymous ■ tweet and also the said incident did not happen when Johri held the post of CEO of BCCI.
It should be noted that the anonymous account of the alleged incident has now been deleted from the twitter timeline of the handle that originally shared it. However, the state associations now want a confirmation from CoA as to what is the action being planned based on the reply from Johri.
On leave
“The CoA had been prompt to seek an explanation from him and had granted him a period of one week to respond. It has subsequently been reported in the media that the CEO has replied to the show-cause notice issued to him. However, there has been no confirmation of the same by the CoA or the office bearers. We would like to know about the role of the office bearers in this process since we are not aware of the same,” read the seven associations’ statement.
Johri had taken a leave of absence to prepare his explanation and will be away until November 2. Incidentally, the state associations of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu informed the CoA that Johri will not be permitted into the association or stadium premises until his name is cleared by an independent panel.