Just days after International Olympic Committee (IOC) chief Thomas Bach's visit to the country, the factional feud within Indian Olympic Association (IOA) surfaced on Thursday with a National Sports Federation head moving a No Confidence motion against incumbent president Narayanswami Ramachandran.
Hockey India chief Narinder Batra on Thursday wrote a letter to the IOA, demanding a Special General Body Meeting at the earliest to vote on the No Confidence motion against Ramachandran.
"As per Rule VIII (i) and (ii) of IOA Constitution, we Hockey India are moving a no confidence motion against Mr N Ramachandran President IOA as we are totally in disagreement with his working and along with it we also feel he is working towards weakening and finishing of the IOA," Batra said in the letter.
"We request you to convene a Special General Meeting (SGM) of the IOA at the earliest to discus on the vote of no confidence against Mr N Ramachandran President," he wrote in the letter addressed to IOA president, Secretary General and Treasurer.
He said if the Special GBM is not called within a month, he will take the lead for a requisition meeting.
"Under the IOA Constitution, any NSF can request for a Special GBM and move a No Confidence Motion. I have the support of 66 per cent of the IOA General Body," he said.
According to the IOA constitution, a No Confidence motion against the president, secretary general, treasurer and other executive council members can be passed if it has two-thirds majority of the members are present and voting.
The quorum for such a meeting will have to be three-fourths of the total strength of the IOA General Body entitled to vote.
The IOA General Body has 183 votes in total -- three each for NSFs and two each for state Olympic bodies.
The infighting among the top brass of the IOA, which came out of a 14-month suspension only last year, came to the open just three days after Bach's first visit to the country after taking over as IOC chief in 2013.
In his one-day whirlwind visit on April 27, Bach had called for unity among the IOA members so that they can work together for the betterment of Indian sports and sportspersons. He has also laid to rest the speculation that India may bid for 2024 Olympic Games.
Discontent against Ramachandran had been brewing for quite some time now with many members feeling that the IOA chief is running the show all by himself without consulting other officials.
Ramachandran's move to keep IOA office bearers, including secretary general Rajiv Mehta, in the dark before he visited Bach in Lausanne, Switzerland, along with Sports Secretary Ajit Sharan did not go down well with some members.
Image: IOA president Narayanswami Ramachandran.
Photograph courtesy: Sports Journalists' Federation of India.
