Kalmadi, Chautala appointments gets political tone

'The biggest question is why members of parliament and senior party functionaries of the BJP still supporting Suresh Kalamadi when they were opposing him for opposing the Congress Party'

Training its guns on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress party has said that the appointments of Suresh Kalmadi and Abhay Singh Chautala as life presidents of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) show the double standards of the former.

"We welcome that Mr. Kalmadi has stepped down. But the biggest question which arises now is the people who elected both of them as lifetime members, and they were the same set of people, like Anurag Thakur, Tarlochan Singh, their parties were opposing the Congress party on the Commonwealth Games, and now, they have elected Mr. Chautala and Mr. Kalmadi as lifetime presidents of the IOA," Congress leader Ajay Maken told ANI.

"So, isn't it a part of double standard, which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Akali Dal they are known of playing. So, the biggest question is why members of parliament and senior party functionaries of the BJP still supporting Suresh Kalamadi when they were opposing him for opposing the Congress Party," he added.

As per sources, the decision to appoint Chautala and Kalmadi as life presidents was unanimous. A resolution was moved by Joint Secretary Rakesh Gupta and a total of 150 people who were a part of the meeting in Chennai agreed to it.

The Sports Ministry on Wednesday decided to issue a show cause notice to the IOA and has said that all ties will be cut with the national Olympic body until Kalmadi and Chautala aren't removed.

Meanwhile, Kalmadi also voluntarily decided to step down from the post.

Kalmadi has been facing corruption charges for misappropriation of funds during the hosting of 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. He served as the IOA president from 1996 to 2011 and was jailed for 10 months for his involvement in the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games corruption scandal but later released on bail.

Meanwhile, Chautala was earlier this month certified as the chief of the Haryana Olympic Association (HOA) by the IOA.

Chautala served as the president of the IOA from December 2012 to February 2014 when the IOA was suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for fielding charge-sheeted candidates at the elections. His election as IOA chief was annulled by the IOC.

Only after the IOA Constitution was amended to ensure that charge-framed candidates are not allowed to contest elections, the IOC revoked the suspension on IOA in February 2014.

Image: Suresh Kalmadi