As the Indian Olympic Association continues to draw flak for the appointment of tainted politicians Sursh Kalmadi and Abhay Chautala as life presidents, it appears that the current imbroglio is unlikely to get sorted any time soon. While Kalmadi has backed off, Chautala continues to brazen it out. IOA President N. Ramachandran appears to have gotten his already comatose organisation into a tight corner, facing severe criticism from government and media post these decisions. The onus is upto Ramachandran to ensure that a decision is taken before any sanctions comes from the International Olympic Committee. While the government's derecognition may not have an immediate impact in terms of athletes' preparation and participation in international events, any action from IOC will harm the already dented image of the IOA.
A senior official of the IOA, on condition of anonymity, said, “Abhay Chautala will not step down any time soon. Someone from within IOA has to either write to IOC about this or the IOC member from India has to take it up.” Nita Ambani was elected the IOC member from India during Rio Olympics in September. “Who will approach her from IOA regarding this matter? Not many have the influence or the connection to do so,” said a senior sports administrator. “There are not many in the current IOA who will directly approach IOC either.”
Ramachandran, meanwhile issued a statement to PTI saying, “The IOA is a body that has to function under the guidance and supervision of Olympic Council of Asia and IOC. I shall discuss this issue with them after their offices open in New Year for their guidance and advice.” Ramachandran is out of the country presently.
It was on IOC's insistence that IOA , after much resistance, had to insert a clause related to debarring those chargesheeted or convicted from holding any post in the IOA in 2014. IOA had been suspended by IOC in 2012. IOA's return to the IOC was possible only after elections were held as per the changes enforced in the constitution. Abhay Chautala was set to be elected for the post of IOA president till the elections were conducted under the supervision of IOC and under the new rules.
While the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports took prompt action by derecognising IOA till the time the duo are removed, IOA officials have put the onus on Ramachandran to get the organisation out of this situation. Chautala has made it difficult for Ramachandran by attacking Union Sports Minister Vijay Goel, terming the matter a “political issue". Goel was in-charge of BJP affairs in Haryana when the party broke the alliance with INLD in 2009. Abhay Chautala was chargesheeted by the CBI in 2010 for possessing disproportionate assets.
It is no secret that IOA has largely been a comatose organisation under Ramachandran's reign. Its role in preparation of Indian teams for international events is negligible. IOA's main work is to field Indian contingents in events like Asian Games, CommonWealth Games and Olympic Games. None of these events are upcoming in near future. The preparation of Indian teams in different disciplines is largely undertaken through public money by MYAS and Sports Authority of India.
Also, the factionalism within IOA is making things difficult. The voices to clean up the stable and bring good governance norms are very few. Ramachandran was elected thanks to Chautala's support. The INLD leader has votes, muscle and money power to hold sway. The other faction is led by Lalit Bhanot, former secretary general of IOA who too controls considerable number of votes. There was a move initiated by Bhanot and backed by then Hockey India president Narinder Dhruv Batra to remove Ramachandran from the post of IOA president last year, but that was not supported by Chautala and the duo backed off. Batra, now International Hockey president, has resigned in disgust from IOA—he was the associate vice president. Bhanot himself is chargesheeted alongside Kalmadi in the CWG scam case.
The move to bring in the tainted duo has clearly misfired. The only good it may well have done is to trigger the cleaning up of all sports federations in India with the government keenly awaiting the Supreme Court order on the Lodha panel recommendations. Once that is done, a Sports Bill covering all sports federations including the BCCI and the IOA could well see the light of day. Several olympians have pleaded with SC to bring IOA and its constituent NSFs also under the purview of the Lodha committee's recommendations.
