Kolkata: It was long due and finally, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has nullified the appointments of tainted politicians, Abhay Singh Chautala and Suresh Kalmadi as Life Presidents. “Both Kamaldi and Chautala’s appointments have been declared null and void as after going through all the documents of the AGM we found out that there were technical fault in the decision,” a top IOA official said to PTI adding, “Kamaldi and Chautala are no longer part of IOA and have nothing to do with IOA.” The move comes in anticipation of stringent actions from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The IOA in its Annual General Meeting in Chennai on December 27, had honoured Kalmadi and Chautala with the honorary posts that incurred the wrath of the Union Sports Ministry. The IOA was suspended by the sports ministry for its controversial appointments and had said that there would be no respite for IOA unless the two politicians were removed from their posts.
According to the news agency, majority of the members of IOA were against the decision and ultimately, the body was forced to ‘revoke’ its move. International Hockey Federation (FIH) president Narinder Batra also put in his papers as the vice-president of the IOA in as a mark of protest against the appointments. Kalmadi who has already been in jail for nine months, faces corruption charges in the 2010 Commonwealth Games scam. Chautala, grand-son of former Deputy Prime Minister, Devi Lal, is tainted in disproportionate assets case and is facing trial. Though, Kalmadi did not accept the post, Chautala remained adamant before IOC asked him to relinquish the post.
With the Lodha Committee also coming down heavily on office-bearers of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) looking to cleaning the affairs of the BCCI after the spot-fixing scandal in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the IOA’s decision ushers in a new era of hope within the sporting fraternity of the country.
(With inputs from PTI)