In the name of following a tradition, the entire 120 members of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) came together and appointed tainted Suresh Kalmadi and Abhay Chautala as its life presidents in an annual general body meeting held in Chennai on Tuesday.
Kalmadi, a former Congress party Member of Parliament, has been accused of corruption while handing out contracts for the Commonwealth Games held in Delhi in 2010. He was arrested and is now out on bail. Haryana strongman Chautala, whose father and former chief minister OP Chautala has also been serving jail term for corruption, has been facing trial in a disproportionate assets case.
Kalmadi and Chautala's names were proposed in the AGM by India's chef-de-mission to Rio Olympic Games, Rakesh Gupta.
"Every one (120 members) present in the meeting unanimously supported the proposal to honour two of our former presidents for their contribution in the field of Olympic movement in India," IOA vice-president Tarlochan Singh told dna after the meeting.
IOA's life president post is only decorative and has no power attached to it. "From Raja Bhalendra Singh to Vijay Kumar Malhotra, IOA has always honoured its former presidents," said Singh.
However, what Singh forgot to mention is that those former presidents did not face serious charges of corruption. Kalmadi, IOA president from 1996 to 2011, was in jail for 10 months before being released on bail.
Chautala served as the president of IOA from December 2012 to February 2014 when the IOA was suspended by the parent body International Olympic Committee (IOC). His election as IOA chief was also annulled by the IOC.
It was only after the IOA constitution was amended to ensure that charge-framed candidates are not allowed to contest elections, the IOC revoked the suspension on IOA in February 2014.
The name of Chautala was doing the rounds for quite some time as the serving IOA president N Ramachandran, brother of controversial former BCCI president N Srinivasan, is known to be a trusted aide of the Haryana politician.
Meanwhile, sports minister Vijay Goel slammed the IOA's move to reward the tainted persons. He has asked for a detailed report from the IOA before taking any action in this regard.
"Sports is for public good and sports governance is a public function and, therefore, it is governed by public law. We have sought details and on receipt of complete report. We shall review the whole situation and take appropriate action. Our government is committed to good governance and transparency in sports," said the minister.
