Indian Olympic Association president PT Usha on Thursday barred the IOA staff from taking any instructions from joint secretary Kalyan Chaubey and the rest of the executive council members, while declaring that the agenda unveiled by the BJP politician for a special general body meeting on October 25 was “illegal and unauthorised”.
On Wednesday, Chaubey, the self-appointed “acting CEO” of the IOA, issued a circular on IOA’s official letterhead listing 26 agenda items for the SGM October 25, the main item being a motion of no confidence against Usha “in light of alleged constitutional violations and actions potentially detrimental to Indian sports”.
PTI reports that Chaubey had signed the circular as IOA’s joint secretary and acting CEO.
It bears noting that Chaubey had served as IOA’s acting CEO before Raghuram Iyer was appointed to the post in January. It is also important to note that whatever may be the assertions of Chaubey and the cabal supporting him, Iyer has been recognised by the International Olympic Committee as the CEO (not acting) of the IOA. It is also worth pointing out that one of the conditions that the IOC had laid down for lifting its suspension of the mismanaged IOA was that a professional CEO would be appointed.
The fact that Chaubey and the EC are in direct contravention of the IOC’s diktats is but par for the course for many national sports bodies in India, a good example being the Wrestling Federation of India, which remains under the firm control of its “former” president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accused of multiple counts of sexual harassment.
Usha, in a press release, termed Chaubey’s action as “both illegal and in violation of the IOA Constitution”.
“Despite certain members of the IOA executive council (EC) denying his appointment and withholding his salary for the past nine months, Mr. lyer continues to serve in his role,” citing that both the IOC and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS), Government of India, recognise Raghuram lyer as “the legitimate CEO of the IOA”.
“In accordance with Article 8.1 of the IOA Constitution, as the president of the IOA, I have already convened the SGM, with due notice issued on October 3, 2024. Further, I have not authorised Kalyan Chaubey, joint secretary of IOA to convene any meeting or promulgate an agenda for the SGM,” she added.
Usha further asserted that Chaubey is impersonating himself as acting CEO of the IOA.
“It is worth noting that Mr. Kalyan Chaubey is the official representative of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) for the SGM scheduled on 25 October 2024, which I have lawfully convened. He is also guilty of issuing a recognition to the Taekwondo Federation of India without the approval of the General Assembly, Therefore, this attempt to act as the acting CEO and issue a separate agenda for the same SGM raises serious concerns about the motives behind these actions,” the statement read.
The IOA chief also alleged that she was approached by certain senior sports administrators, who requested her to withdraw the agenda for the SGM and call off the meeting.
“The illegal notice issued by Mr. Chaubey now confirms my belief that there is a group of individuals working behind the scenes to disrupt the functioning of the IOA. These individuals clearly have much to hide and are using select EC members to shield themselves from scrutiny,” she said.
“I urge all stakeholders to recognise the legality of the SGM notice issued by my office on October 3 and to disregard any illegal actions that are in direct contravention of the IOA Constitution,” she concluded.
