'These accusations are intended to malign my leadership', PT Usha lashes out at IOA EC

New Delhi, Sep 29 (IANS) Indian Olympic Association (IOA) chief PT Usha has hit back at the false and baseless allegations made by 12 IOA Executive Council (EC) members in a letter addressed to International Olympic Committee (IOC) Director of International Relations Jerome Poivey. 

The 12 EC members, which include Olympic medallists like Gagan Narang and Yogeshwar Dutt, Sehdev Yadav, etc., have written a letter to senior IOC official Jerome Poivey accusing the legendary athlete of running the organisation in an "autocratic" manner.

"These accusations are only intended to malign my leadership and the efforts of those working diligently towards the betterment of Indian sports," PT Usha wrote in a letter.

"In my 45-year-long career as a sportsperson representing India at the highest levels of a competition, I have never encountered individuals so indifferent to the aspirations of our athletes and our nation’s sporting future. Instead of supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visionary goal of hosting the 2036 Olympic Games in India, these individuals seem more focused on self-serving power play and monetary gain through their prolonged presence and control in sports administration," the letter further read.

During Thursday's emergancy EC meeting, there was a bitter confrontation during the IOA meeting where the embattled Usha outrightly rejected their appeal of removing Raghuram Iyer from CEO's post.

Addressing the claims made by these EC members is questioning Raghuram Iyer's appointment as IOA Chief Executive Officer. PT Usha clarified that "his appointment, made in January 2024, was carried out in strict accordance with the IOA constitution."

"...In order to uphold the provisions of the IOA Constitution, notwithstanding the undue resistance from a majority of the EC, the Nomination Committee undertook the process of selection as envisaged in Article 15.3.1. For the purposes of accountability and transparency, the entire process undertaken by the Nomination Committee was minuted and duly shared with the entire Executive Committee during the January 2024 meeting," she wrote in a letter.

"To now question the process or the alleged ‘exorbitant’ salary payments made to him is entirely false," the letter read.

"His appointment was officially ratified in the January 2024 meeting. The said meeting has not only been video-graphed but also transcribed and minuted, all of which evidence the fact that a majority of the EC members accepted the appointment of Mr. Iyer and requested and nominated me, as part of the EC, to only renegotiate the salary component," it added.

PT Usha also claimed that the CEO appointed by IOA has not been paid at all. "Despite his official appointment, Mr. Iyer has not been paid a single rupee till date. The delay in paying his salary is solely because certain EC members continue to defy the provisions of the IOA Constitution, obstructing necessary progress and decision-making," it read.

"It is essential to bring to light that some of these EC members have very questionable track records, including allegations of gender bias and even cases of sexual harassment filed against them. Recently, during the CAG audit, it has come to my attention that IOA Treasurer Sahdev Yadav, in connivance with the members of the IOA Finance Committee headed by Ajay Patel and comprising of Rajlaxmi Singh Deo, BS Bajwa, Amitabh Sharma, Rohit Rajpal, Lt. Gen. Harpal Singh and Monal Choksi, has surreptitiously written off large sums of monies owed to the IOA," she claimed in a letter.

Further raising claims against the EC members, she wrote, "A case of using the IOA’s PAN card by the ad hoc committee in charge of volleyball, headed by Mr. Rohit Rajpal and its member Ms. Alaknanda Ashok, is also being investigated since it was done without the necessary approvals.

"The former acting CEO, Kalyan Chaubey, bypassed the IOA General Assembly to grant affiliation to the Taekwondo Federation of India, which is not recognised either by its World or Asian Federation, thereby causing imminent harm to our hard-working Taekwondo athletes. Despite these serious accusations, they continue to hold positions within the IOA and other National Sports Federations."

"In conclusion, I reiterate that this malicious letter from the 12 members of the IOA EC is part of a much broader attempt to hinder the progress of Indian sports and undermine the positive developments that we, as a collective, have worked hard to achieve. These actions not only tarnish the image of Indian sports but also do a disservice to the aspirations of our athletes and the nation’s goal of becoming a global sporting powerhouse.

"I stand firm in my commitment to the values of integrity, transparency, and the upliftment of Indian sports. We will not let such baseless allegations derail our mission to empower our athletes and bring glory to our country on the global stage,' the letter concluded.