The tussle within the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) seems unending with the formation of various internal committees being the latest point of discord.
On Monday, IOA president Narinder Batra confirmed Executive Council approval for 14 committees formed in the last week of May. These include committees for legal issues, sponsorship and marketing and to oversee preparations for the 2021 World Beach Games (now postponed to 2023) and the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Batra had written to the EC members on July 8 for the same and sought replies within seven days.
Of the 32 EC members, eight did not reply while 20 of the remaining 24 agreed to the decisions in toto.
Secretary’s take
However, IOA Secretary General Rajeev Mehta has questioned the composition of the committees and Batra’s authority to constitute them.
“Since it is the duty of the Secretary General and not of the President to circulate the notice and agenda of meetings of the Executive Council and the agenda with 10 days’ notice, the composition of the Committees would be further discussed and corrected in view of the above mentioned reasons, and sent in due course of time,” Mehta has written.
He has also sought 30% representation for women in all committees of IOA and objected to the exclusion of 6-time Olympian luger Shiva Keshavan from the committee to oversee preparations for the 2022 Winter Olympics.
