CSI claims IOA fooling people with amended constitution

New Delhi: Clean Sports India (CSI) today alleged that the IOA's decision to amend its constitution to bar charge-framed persons from contesting its elections was a complete eyewash.

She said the amended constituion gives tainted officials an opportunity to return to their posts after securing clean chits from the body's ethics commission.

"IOA is trying make IOC believe that they have followed the ultimatum of the IOC and the two tainted office bearers will be removed as a direct impact. However, by referring the case to the IOA's very own Ethics commission that can give a clean chit to tainted members using the representation of peoples' act, it seems that this clause is ineffective," CSI president and Olympian Ashwini Nachappa said in a statement.

The decision to amend the IOA constitution in line with IOC diktat was taken at its Special General Body Meeting on Sunday after the the world body served the ultimatum last month that it would de-recognise India if the charge-framed persons are not barred from contesting polls.

The newly added clause said: "Where charges have been framed by any court in India, in respect of an offence which is of serious nature under Indian Penal Code/Prevention of Corruption Act in which punishment of imprisonment of more than 2 years is prescribed then the member/office bearer/member of executive council of IOA will resign immediately and if not they will be provisionally suspended and will not be eligible to contest in elections and the case will be referred to IOA Ethics Commission for further guidance".

Nachappa said the last sentence of the clause made it clear that IOA had no intention to clean up sports administration in the country.

"....it is quite clear that the current general body of the IOA is still standing by the tainted duo who may even decide to nominate proxy candidates for the next election while they themselves get their clean chits and make their return," she added.

Nachappa said the tainted officials must be cleared of all charges by the courts and not their ethics commission.

"Therefore I request you to kindly take note of the last sentence of the amendment and ensure that unless the court clears the concerned officials of all its charges he or she shall not be allowed to contest the elections nor be part of the Olympic movement."

"This rider adopted in their clause only goes to show the extent to which they would go to fool all of us and months of effort put in to clean up the system by you, us and the ministry would go wasted," she added.