IOA Bickering: Narinder Batra wants election in Bengaluru, Mehta calls Executive Council meeting

Vinayak Padmadeo

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 29

With the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) firmly in grip of election fever, the rift at the top is widening by the day. On Thursday, IOA president Narinder Batra wrote to the executive council members, asking them to approve a Special General Meeting to be held in Bengaluru on December 19 to elect new office-bearers.

Batra invoked Clause 8.1 of the IOA constitution to call for this meeting. The notice asks the members to reply within seven days, failing which it is to be considered as ratified by the members.

The letter also says if IOA secretary general Rajeev Mehta does not ‘issue notice/letter within 72 hours of intimation by the president IOA, then president IOA is authorised by the executive council to immediately nominate one joint secretary from amongst elected joint secretaries in the IOA executive council to issue notice/letter for the Special General Meeting”.

While Clause 8.1 does say that ‘Special General meeting may be called by the president or the executive council’, Clause 16.3 of the same constitution, which discusses the duties of the secretary general, clearly states that ‘hellip;he shall be responsible for calling meetings of the IOA Annual General/Special General Assembly/Executive Council, as per rules and to implement their decisions”.

Those opposing Batra are confident that he cannot call an election meeting. Mehta, meanwhile, has called an Executive Council Meeting on November 1, when all the issues, including election dates, are expected to be decided.

Salvo from Panday

Amid this bickering, IOA treasurer Anandeshwar Panday fired a salvo at Batra, raising the issue of “loan liability of Rs36 lakh created by the internal auditor in favour of your private company Superparts Private Limited.”

“As Treasurer I say with full authority that the 5Th IOA EC meeting must be held on 1st November 2021 to discuss the accounts and discuss all allegations against us including you and me. Don’t be scared not to hold the EC meeting,” Panday wrote to Batra. “I would also like to discuss the forgery of minutes relating to the visit of the IOC President Mr. Thomas Bach where you spent Rs1.2 crores of IOA money including Rs50 lacs at your family hotel and your Hockey India event management company. I am willing to face all your accusations in the meeting and you should have the courage to face my accusations too,” he added.