Vijay Mallya faces ouster as FMSCI boss

Chennai:  In what could be further embarrassment to Vijay Mallya, the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India may dethrone the beleaguered businessman from the post of chairman in the body’s next council meeting in June. Apart from holding the honorary position as chairman, Mallya attends the FIA world council as titular representative of the FMSCI.

A former racer and F1 team owner, Mallya’s association with motorsport goes back a long way. Incidentally, Mallya’s last public appearance in India was at the FMSCI annual awards function in New Delhi before he left the country on March 2.

An FMSCI councillor said it would be ideal if Mallya stepped down on moral grounds instead of waiting for the eight-member council’s decision. “We don’t know the legality in Mallya’s loan issue, but he should step down on his own. Once things are resolved, I am sure people in the federation would welcome him back with open arms,” said the councillor.

Mallya, who is highly respected for his understanding of the sport, has a lot of admirers in motorsport fraternity. FMSCI president Zayn Khan said the issue hadn’t been raised officially. “We will put it to vote if any of the eight councillors raise it on the floor in the next meeting. As of now, Mallya only faces accusations; he hasn’t been found guilty. And it’s only an honorary post; the president is the executive office-bearer of the federation,” he added.

The ministry of external affairs has already announced that it has revoked Mallya’s passport and there is a clamour for his disqualification from the Rajya Sabha. “As Mallya categorically said that he is in forced exile in the UK and has no plans of coming back to the country, what contribution can he make to an Indian sports body?” asked the councillor.

For the past year, the FMSCI has been on the list of sports ministry-backed National Sports Federations and it has to comply with government guidelines. “In the last council meeting, there was no mention of Mallya. But, now that the government has called for his deportation after revoking his passport, we are expecting the president to add the issue to the agenda. We don’t want the embarrassment of being forced to do it on the orders of the ministry,” he said.