Mumbai: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will conduct its 87th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Mumbai on September 21. The meeting will discuss many issues regarding board’s working and it has been called ‘routine’ by BCCI’s officials. Lodha panel will be keeping a close eye on the proceedings.
In August, BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke met with the Lodha committee and said that the AGM would be a routine affair. On August 31, Lodha committee mailed CEO of BCCI, Rahul Johri and said that the meeting should discuss the issues for the past year (2015-16) and that “any business or matters relating to the next year (2016-17)” be dealt with only after the BCCI implements the Committee’s recommendations.
The agenda for the BCCI includes appointment of new selection committee, new secretary, working committee members, electing standing committees, choosing a new ombudsman, nominating representatives to attend ICC and Asian cricket council meeting, approving budget for the next calendar year and appointing auditors for the next financial year.
Lodha committee has warned BCCI that if they don’t follow the order it could be considered contempt of court regarding the new Memorandum of Association and it has to fall in line with Supreme Court monitored Lodha panel’s recommendations. If BCCI goes ahead and selects new persons or committee, Lodha panel has the power to overrule it.
The Committee has repeatedly reminded the BCCI of the powers vested in it by the Supreme Court order on July 18, and if the board and state associations fail to comply, the panel can approach the court again.
The BCCI by the looks of it will continue with their work. BCCI has issued an advertisement for the applications for the appointment of selectors for men, women and junior committees, a round of interviews was held in Delhi on Monday, and another is scheduled in Mumbai on Tuesday.
At the AGM, the BCCI will select five new members to be part of its new working committee according to the zonal rotation system, and there will be a new ombudsman since the incumbent Justice AP Shah‘s term ends on September 22. Shirke would most likely to be elected as the new secretary unopposed since he took over when Anurag Thakur became the president. Thakur had replaced Shashank Manohar, when he left the BCCI abruptly to become the independent chairman of the ICC.
Lodha committee is quietly waiting and watching every step of BCCI. They have given the deadline for the reforms and are awaiting BCCI’s next step regarding the implementations.
The first deadline is September 30, by when the BCCI and state associations need to amend their constitutions and adopt the new Memorandum of Association and Rules. The second is December 15, by when the board must hold elections to form a nine-member Apex Council to replace the working committee and hold its AGM.
Markandey Katju, retired SC Judge was hired by BCCI to look into the findings of the panel. Katju after studying the report made a scathing remark and called the report ‘illegal and unconstitutional’. Katju’s reasoning was based on that BCCI was governed by the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, 1975 and only the Registrar could take action against the BCCI, not a court-appointed committee. “It is well settled in law that the court cannot take over or usurp the functions of a statutory authority,” Katju had said his report, and reiterated the same on Monday. It was on Katju’s insistence that BCCI filed a review petition and challenged the matter.
BCCI is playing a very smart game and most of the member associations are not afraid of repercussions. The power game in the BCCI has started and N Srinivasan is watchfully siding with BCCI rather than supporting the report of Lodha committee.
Anurag Thakur and Shashank Manohar are involved in a war of words with Thakur alleging that BCCI is getting a raw deal at ICC and Manohar is ignoring the most powerful and richest cricketing body.
The AGM will not be a quiet affair and promises to be action packed. Lodha committee has taken on the body which has been governed by its own rules and regulations. The picture will become clearer when the AGM ends and it will be interesting to know who has the last laugh.