Adamant IOA goes ahead with polls
6 Dec 2012 6:22 AM IST
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) continued to blame its outgoing secretary general Randhir Singh for the current mess and went ahead with its elections despite being suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The annual general meeting (AGM) of IOA was held on Wednesday where a resolution blaming Randhir Singh’s act got passed.
The house felt it was Randhir who was responsible for IOA’s suspension by IOC. Randhir, who withdrew from IOA presidential election on 25 November, was absent from the meeting. IOC treats the election as ‘null and void’.
Polls were conducted only to elect relatively minor positions as politician Abhay Singh Chautala, contesting for the president’s post, had already been elected unopposed while scam-tainted Lalit Bhanot had become the new secretary general. ‘The house unanimously decided that we did not do anything wrong by going ahead with the election process. Inspite of this the IOC decided to suspend us, but we will try our level best to get the suspension revoked as soon as possible. About 85 per cent of the sports federations and state Olympic committees were present in the AGM. And it was a unanimous decision,’ IOA acting president VK Malhotra said on the sidelines of the AGM.
Meanwhile, IOC in its suspension letter to IOA has made it clear that the national sports body would remain suspended until it was in a position to satisfy all the conditions set out in the Olympic charter and IOC’s requirements. In the letter to Malhotra, IOC president Jacques Rogge clearly stated the requirements of the Charter. The requirements included ‘to guarantee its full autonomy; to ensure free and fair elections in conformity with its own statutes and the Olympic Charter; and to implement all basic principles of ethics and good governance in its daily management.
The house felt it was Randhir who was responsible for IOA’s suspension by IOC. Randhir, who withdrew from IOA presidential election on 25 November, was absent from the meeting. IOC treats the election as ‘null and void’.
Polls were conducted only to elect relatively minor positions as politician Abhay Singh Chautala, contesting for the president’s post, had already been elected unopposed while scam-tainted Lalit Bhanot had become the new secretary general. ‘The house unanimously decided that we did not do anything wrong by going ahead with the election process. Inspite of this the IOC decided to suspend us, but we will try our level best to get the suspension revoked as soon as possible. About 85 per cent of the sports federations and state Olympic committees were present in the AGM. And it was a unanimous decision,’ IOA acting president VK Malhotra said on the sidelines of the AGM.
Meanwhile, IOC in its suspension letter to IOA has made it clear that the national sports body would remain suspended until it was in a position to satisfy all the conditions set out in the Olympic charter and IOC’s requirements. In the letter to Malhotra, IOC president Jacques Rogge clearly stated the requirements of the Charter. The requirements included ‘to guarantee its full autonomy; to ensure free and fair elections in conformity with its own statutes and the Olympic Charter; and to implement all basic principles of ethics and good governance in its daily management.
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