Former Congress leader Suresh Kalmadi has declined the post of life president of the Indian Olympic Association, according to reports. This was after the Sports Ministry issued a notice to the IOA saying that all ties with them would be cut until Kalmadi and former president of the national Olympic body, Abhay Singh Chautala, were removed from their posts as lifetime presidents.
“Suresh Kalmadi has informed IOA President N Ramachandran that he won’t accept the life president’s post,” IOA Secretary General Rajeev Mehta told The Indian Express. “It was a sudden decision. A member proposed the names during our Annual General Meeting and [IOA] president approved it. It wasn’t on the agenda,” he added.
Sports Minister Vijay Goel had earlier said that both Kalmadi and Chautala were “facing serious corruption charges”, adding that he would seek a report on their appointments. Kalmadi is accused of corruption during his tenure as IOA president during which India hosted the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. The IOA had been suspended by the International Olympic Committee during Chautala’s term as president between 2012 and 2014 for fielding charge-sheeted candidates at the elections.
Chautala had hit back at Goel, saying there was no corruption case against him. “I was surprised by the reaction of Sports Minister Vijay Goel. He was claiming that there are criminal and corruption cases against me. The case against me is not a criminal case, it is a political case,” Chautala said.
“Mr Goel has failed in his responsibility as a sports minister. I would advise him to fulfill his responsibility as sports minister because if he does that, our medal count will increase manifold and he will get credit for that. Instead of getting into a controversy without knowing full facts, he should focus on his job,” Chautala added.