Former Indian Olympic Association (IOA) chief Suresh Kalmadi has, following a furore, declined the post of life president of the national Olympic body, to which he was nominated during Tuesday's AGM in Chennai. Apart from Kalmadi, another former IOA president Abhay Singh Chautala too was unanimously named for the post.
Kalmadi, who served a nine-month jail term but was later released on bail after being convicted in the 2010 Commonwealth Games scam, wrote to the IOA on Wednesday stating that he was not in a position to take up the post until he's cleared in all legal cases. His lawyer Hitesh Jain has rushed to clarify that it was not a decision taken under duress and that he was nominated voluntarily by the IOA for the post, one that Kalmadi had little clue of. The life president is an honorary position that comes with few powers.
Terming the nomination a 'shocking' decision on Tuesday, Sports Minister Vijay Goel had said that it was an unacceptable move considering both Kalmadi and Chautala are facing criminal charges. He tweeted that unless Kalmadi and Chautala resigned or were removed, the sports ministry would not deal with the IOA in any form.
However, Chautala came out to defend himself by launching an attack on Goel.
"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," he said.
"Mr Goel has failed in his responsibility as a Sports Minister. I would advise him to fulfil 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 served as IOA president from 2012-2014, during the period when the body was suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for allowing charge-sheeted candidates to contest in its elections. N Ramachandran took over as the president of the body in 2014 after the IOC annulled Chautala's appointment and lifted the 14-month suspension.