Clean Sports India accuses VK Malhotra of using double standards in Indian Olympic Association election

Clean Sports India (CSI) national convener, B V P Rao today accused India Olympic  Association's acting president, V K Malhotra of using double standards in conducting IOA election after the chairman of the election committee S Y Quraishi resigned from his post.

Rao, who unsuccessfully contested against Malhotra for the post of Archery Association of India (AAI) president recently, said that Quraishi's resignation as the head of the three-member IOA election committee has once again exposed "unprincipled leadership" of the country's apex sports body.

"IOA has accepted, according to Quraishi, Sports Code to conduct elections. In fact, Independent Election Commission had written on 5th November 2012 to IOA acting president Mr V K Malhotra on how they will follow IOA Constitution and Sports Code in conducting the ensuing IOA election," Rao said in a statement.

"Then what has changed so soon? Perhaps he (Malhotra)  won election as President of Archery Association of India on 9th November 2012 as it affects him personally with his unprecedented tenure of 40 years violating age and tenure rules of Sports Code.

"But Malhotra had rejected IOC  ideas and principle when it does not suit him. Recently he  objected to IOC's plan to send its observers to oversee the IOA elections. Why does he not want observers from IOC? Because it does not suit his plans to get some unprincipled  people with questionable integrity to lead IOA. This kind of unprincipled leadership of IOA is destroying the Indian sports," said Rao, vice president of the Assam Archery unit.

Rao said that Malhotra and his  team of administrators have no moral authority to continue in office as they have finished their tenure in the IOA on October 10 this year.

"The acting president and his entire team finished their tenure on 10th October 2012. From 11th October, acting IOA president has no moral authority to continue," he said.

He also informed that CSI president Ashwini Nachappa has already demanded the International Olympic Association (IOC) to set up an ad-hoc committee of principled individuals to manage IOA affairs till the time free and  fair elections are held.

The high-profile IOA  elections, to be held on November 25, today took a dramatic turn when former  chief election commissioner, Quraishi resigned from his post saying his conscience did not allow him to continue after the IOA backtracked on its commitment.

The IOA had formed a three-member committee in the chairmanship of Quraishi which  also included retired chief justice of Kerala High Court, VK Bali and retired Justice of Delhi High Court, JD Kapur, who had issued the guidelines for the polls to be held under  the government's sports  guidelines while the constitution and bye-laws of  the IOA would be used only as a supporting factor.

But the IOC had, in a letter, rejected the decision to hold the upcoming elections under sports code and made it clear that the polls will have to be held "exclusively" under the Olympic Charter and the IOA constitution.