New Delhi: Barred from contesting next month's Indian Olympic Association elections, suspended IOA President Abhay Singh Chautala is set to call the shots on who would be nominated from his faction for the top posts in the polls which will bring the country back to the Olympic fold after more than a year.
Chautala, who cannot stand in February 9 elections under the recent amendments of IOA constitution on the diktat of International Olympic Committee, has been authorised to choose the candidates for various posts, including those of president, secretary general and treasurer in the polls which will be held in the presence of IOC observers.
The officials of the current dispensation led by Chautala, which still seem to have the majority in the IOA, had a meeting recently at his New Delhi residence during which he was authorised to decide on who would contest elections.
"Yes, we had a meeting on Monday night at Chautala's residence and we have decided to authorise him to decide on the candidates," an official who attended the meeting told PTI.
It has been learnt that some members took the names of Indian Weightlifting Federation President Birendra Prasad Baishya and Squash Racquet Federation of India chief N Ramachandran for the post of president and Hockey India Associate vice-president Rajeev Mehta for Secretary General.
IOC Director of NOC Relations Pere Miro, IOC Ethics Commission member Francisco J Elizalde from Philippines and Olympic Council of Asia Director General Husain Al Musallam will be the observers from the world body in the GBM and the elections.
Meanwhile, the filing of nominations for various posts begin tomorrow and end on Sunday. Returning Officer (Retd) Justice S N Sapra today issued a 167-member electoral college with NSFs getting three delegates while the state Olympic bodies nominating two each.
There were 109 members from the 36 NSFs along with that of IOC member in India, Randhir Singh, and 58 members from the 30 state Olympic units.
Additionally, three member each from Indian Hockey Federation and another faction of Gymnastic Federation of India will be eligible to vote under court orders. Similarly, two members from another faction of Haryana Olympic Association have been included in the electoral college under the court orders.
Chautala finds himself in the electoral college as the third representative of Athletics Federation of India along with its senior joint secretary Mumtaz Khan. Chautala is also the president of Haryana Athletics Association.
Incumbent Secretary General Lalit Bhanot, who also cannot contest elections due to the charge-framed clause, has been nominated as the second representative of Delhi Olympic Association along with Delhi State Athletics Association Secretary Sunny Joshua.
A top IOA official said that only the president, secretary general and treasurer will have to be in the Executive Committee of 2008-12 and 2012 to the present. This restriction will not apply to other Executive Committee members.
Those who file nomination papers to fight elections for president, secretary general and treasurer and executive committee members will have to furnish an undertaking that they have not been convicted of any offence of serious nature under the Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act and that no charges have been framed by any court of law in India in respect of the offence which is of a serious nature under IPC and PCA and in which the punishment of imprisonment is of more than two years.
Further, those filing nomination for the posts of president, secretary general and treasurer will have to give an additional undertaking that he will not attain the age of 70 on the date of elections.
The Special GBM, which will precede the elections, is expected to make the final amendment to the charge-framed clause to rule out any other interpretation than barring the tainted persons from contesting the polls.
The IOA amended its constitution on December 8 last by barring charge-framed persons like Chautala and Bhanot from elections but there was an ambiguity in the clause. Despite maintaining that the charge-framed persons for offences which carry more than two years' jail term will have to resign or be removed, the clause said that their case will be referred to the Ethics Commission of the IOA for further guidance.
The IOC gave a conditional approval to the amendments but asked the IOA to ensure absolute clarity in the charge-framed clause by ratifying the interpretations suggested by the world body.
The world body issued guidelines to avoid "unnecessary speculation or doubtful interpretation" and made it clear that charge-framed persons will have to resign automatically or else be suspended provisionally.
The IOC made a veiled threat that it reserves the right to impose necessary sanctions if the IOA does not ratify the interpretations suggested by the IOC.
( Source : PTI )
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