Graft-accused Suresh Kalmadi has rejected the lifetime presidency given to him by the Indian Olympic Association. His move came even as the Sports Ministry issued a showcause notice to the Indian Olympic Association cutting ties with it till it removed Kalmadi and Ajay Chautala from their positions of lifetime presidents. Both men have been accused of corruption, while Kalmadi was arrested for being involved in the Commonwealth Games scam in 2010.

The IOA’s decision has been heavily opposed by the central government. Sports Minister Vijay Goel (pictured above) said he was shocked at the decision. On Wednesday, he said, “This move is against the constitution of IOA and is not acceptable to the Sports Ministry. I am disappointed by the decision because both are facing cases of corruption. Till the time, these two don’t resign or are sacked, we will not deal with the IOA.”

Congress leader and former sports minister Ajay Maken has called on the Centre to take serious steps against their appointments.

Retorting to the sports minister on Wednesday, Chautala asked Goel to focus on his job. “He [Goel] was claiming that there are criminal and corruption cases against me,” Chautala said. “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.”

On Tuesday, Goel said both Chautala and Kalmadi were “facing serious corruption charges”, adding that he would seek a report on their appointments. Kalmadi has been accused of giving out inflated contracts for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, including one worth Rs 141 crore to Swiss Timing for equipment. That deal was inflated by Rs 95 crores. Other colleagues of Kalmadi’s like Lalit Bhanot and VK Verma were also arrested in connection with the scandal.