The Indian federal government on Friday temporarily suspended the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) for appointing tainted politicians Suresh Kalmadi and Abhay Singh Chautala as life presidents on December 27.

The appointment of Chautala and Kalmadi as life presidents led to widespread criticism, prompting the Sports Ministry to issue a show cause notice to the IOA on Wednesday. The ministry had warned it would cut all ties with the national Olympic body until Kalmadi and Chautala were removed. 
 
The government took the decision after IOA failed to reply to its show cause notice with the deadline ending at 5 pm today, PTI reported.

The IOA, on its part, had sought 15-days time from the Sports Ministry stating that its president N Ramachandran was out of the country. 
 
&quot;The government can&#39;t approve of wrong things. The show cause notice issued to the IOA was a serious one but they didn&#39;t respond and instead sought 15 days time. So the government has decided to suspend IOA till the time they withdraw the appointments,&quot; Sports Minister Vijay Goel said, adding that the government considered the IOA&#39;s reply only as a ploy to buy time.

&quot;The IOA now can&#39;t take any financial assistance, facilities and privileges from the government till the time they are suspended,&quot; Goel added.

The government was not satisfied with the response of IOA since they have not given any substantive reply especially with regard to the non-eligibility of Kalmadi and Chautala.

The IOA will now cease to enjoy the privileges and prerogatives bestowed on it by the government as the National Olympic Committee (NOC). 
 
&quot;This is a serious violation of the norms of good governance by IOA which is the mother sports body and corrective action needs to be taken immediately as it is a matter of national prestige and public sentiments.

&quot;Although the government has utmost respect for the Olympic Charter and is committed to protecting the autonomy of sports, it cannot remain a mute spectator to blatant violation of principles of ethic and good governance by IOA, thereby putting the image and prestige of the country at stake,&quot; the Minister said.

&quot;By appointing charge sheeted persons the IOA has flouted all rules and regulations mentioned in its own Constitution and that of International Olympic Committee.

Sports Minister Vijay Goel had criticised the IOA&#39;s appointment saying that the move was &quot;totally unacceptable&quot; as both Kalmadi and Chautala were facing serious criminal and corruption charges.

Kalmadi, a former IOA president, eventually declined the post on December 29, amid increasing clamour for his removal.

Chautala remained defiant, threatening legal action against Sports Minister Vijay Goel, asserting that he would decline the post only if told to do so by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).&nbsp;

Meanwhile, on Friday, International Hockey Federation (FIH) President Narinder Batra resigned as associate vice-president of the IOA to protest the scam-tainted duo&#39;s appointment.

&quot;I am disturbed about a development in IOA AGM in Chennai on December 27. I am told by the members present in the AGM that this particular discussion, i.e nomination of Life President, took place as last item in `any other item` and was proposed and approved in a total of one minute without any discussion,&quot; Batra said in a letter to IOA President N. Ramachandran and Secretary General Rajeev Mehta.

Chautala, legislator from the Indian National Lok Dal in the Haryana government, served as the president of the IOA from December 2012 to February 2014. He has been charged in a disproportionate assets case and is being investigated by the CBI.

Kalmadi 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. He spent 10 months in prison and was later released on bail.

(WION with inputs from PTI) 
&nbsp;

Indian Olympic Association faced severe publich backlash for picking tainted politicians as its life presidents

The Indian federal government on Friday temporarily suspended the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) for appointing tainted politicians Suresh Kalmadi and Abhay Singh Chautala as life presidents on December 27. The appointment of Chautala and Kalmadi as life presidents led to widespread criticism, prompting the Sports Ministry to issue a show cause notice to the IOA on Wednesday. The ministry had warned it would cut all ties with the national Olympic body until Kalmadi and Chautala were removed. The government took the decision after IOA failed to reply to its show cause notice with the deadline ending at 5 pm today, PTI reported. The IOA, on its part, had sought 15-days time from the Sports Ministry stating that its president N Ramachandran was out of the country. "The government can't approve of wrong things. The show cause notice issued to the IOA was a serious one but they didn't respond and instead sought 15 days time. So the government has decided to suspend IOA till the time they withdraw the appointments," Sports Minister Vijay Goel said, adding that the government considered the IOA's reply only as a ploy to buy time. "The IOA now can't take any financial assistance, facilities and privileges from the government till the time they are suspended," Goel added. The government was not satisfied with the response of IOA since they have not given any substantive reply especially with regard to the non-eligibility of Kalmadi and Chautala. The IOA will now cease to enjoy the privileges and prerogatives bestowed on it by the government as the National Olympic Committee (NOC). "This is a serious violation of the norms of good governance by IOA which is the mother sports body and corrective action needs to be taken immediately as it is a matter of national prestige and public sentiments. "Although the government has utmost respect for the Olympic Charter and is committed to protecting the autonomy of sports, it cannot remain a mute spectator to blatant violation of principles of ethic and good governance by IOA, thereby putting the image and prestige of the country at stake," the Minister said. "By appointing charge sheeted persons the IOA has flouted all rules and regulations mentioned in its own Constitution and that of International Olympic Committee. Sports Minister Vijay Goel had criticised the IOA's appointment saying that the move was "totally unacceptable" as both Kalmadi and Chautala were facing serious criminal and corruption charges. Kalmadi, a former IOA president, eventually declined the post on December 29, amid increasing clamour for his removal. Chautala remained defiant, threatening legal action against Sports Minister Vijay Goel, asserting that he would decline the post only if told to do so by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Meanwhile, on Friday, International Hockey Federation (FIH) President Narinder Batra resigned as associate vice-president of the IOA to protest the scam-tainted duo's appointment. "I am disturbed about a development in IOA AGM in Chennai on December 27. I am told by the members present in the AGM that this particular discussion, i.e nomination of Life President, took place as last item in `any other item` and was proposed and approved in a total of one minute without any discussion," Batra said in a letter to IOA President N. Ramachandran and Secretary General Rajeev Mehta. Chautala, legislator from the Indian National Lok Dal in the Haryana government, served as the president of the IOA from December 2012 to February 2014. He has been charged in a disproportionate assets case and is being investigated by the CBI. Kalmadi 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. He spent 10 months in prison and was later released on bail. (WION with inputs from PTI)

Indian govt temporarily suspends Olympic body over dubious appointments

A defiant Indian Olympic Association (IOA) sought to brazen it out even as the clamour for a rollback grew louder today after the scam-tainted duo of Suresh Kalmadi and Abhay Singh Chautala were elevated to life presidents of the sporting body.

The aftershocks of the IOA&#39;s decision, which was heavily criticised by sports minister Vijay Goel in a hurriedly-called press conference last night, became stronger in intensity today.

The IOA top brass could not be reached after the shocking move even as Chautala came out to defend himself by launching an attack on Goel.

However, that did little to douse the fire and Goel was joined by Ajay Maken, the sports minister in the previous government, who also criticised the move and called it &quot;sad and painful.&quot;

&quot;As a former sports minister and sports enthusiast, the IOA&#39;s decision to appoint Kalmadi and Chautala as life presidents of IOA is sad and very painful. This decision is not good for sports and India&#39;s image,&quot; Ajay Maken told the press today.

&quot;I request the sports minister not only to convey his reservations but take strong actions to reverse the decision. All the national sports federations are funded by the sports ministry, so the government should exercise its full powers to reverse the decision. If they do so there is no reason the matter can&#39;t be resolved,&quot; he added.

Chautala, on the other hand, wondered what the fuss was all about, going to the extent of ridiculing Goel for expressing pain on his appointment.

&quot;I was surprised by the reaction of sports minister Vijay Goel. He was claiming that there are criminal and corruption cases against me. The case against me is not a criminal case, it is a political case,&quot; a livid Chautala said.

&quot;Mr Goel has failed in his responsibility as a sports minister. I would advise him to fulfil his responsibility as sports minister because if he does that, our medal count will increase manifold and he will get credit for that. Instead of getting into a controversy without knowing full facts, he should focus on his job,&quot; he added.

Chautala also said that he had done enough for Olympic sports in India to deserve the IOA life president&#39;s post.

Maken, meanwhile, also questioned BJP MP Anurag Thakur, BJP-ally Shiromoni Akali Dal MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and IOA sitting vice-president Tarlochan Singh for not opposing the appointments being a part of the AGM.

&quot;Today when we are talking about eradicating corruption and graft from the country we are bringing back such tainted individuals. What is the message the IOA is giving?&quot; he asked.

&quot;Anurag Thakur, Dhindsa and Tarlochan Singh were all part of IOA Executive Committee and were there at the meeting yesterday. I request them all to take back the decision for the image of the country,&quot; Maken added. 
 
(PTI)

The IOA's decision, which was criticised by sports minister Vijay Goel in a hurriedly-called press conference last night, gained in intensity today

A defiant Indian Olympic Association (IOA) sought to brazen it out even as the clamour for a rollback grew louder today after the scam-tainted duo of Suresh Kalmadi and Abhay Singh Chautala were elevated to life presidents of the sporting body. The aftershocks of the IOA's decision, which was heavily criticised by sports minister Vijay Goel in a hurriedly-called press conference last night, became stronger in intensity today. The IOA top brass could not be reached after the shocking move even as Chautala came out to defend himself by launching an attack on Goel. However, that did little to douse the fire and Goel was joined by Ajay Maken, the sports minister in the previous government, who also criticised the move and called it "sad and painful." "As a former sports minister and sports enthusiast, the IOA's decision to appoint Kalmadi and Chautala as life presidents of IOA is sad and very painful. This decision is not good for sports and India's image," Ajay Maken told the press today. "I request the sports minister not only to convey his reservations but take strong actions to reverse the decision. All the national sports federations are funded by the sports ministry, so the government should exercise its full powers to reverse the decision. If they do so there is no reason the matter can't be resolved," he added. Chautala, on the other hand, wondered what the fuss was all about, going to the extent of ridiculing Goel for expressing pain on his appointment. "I was surprised by the reaction of sports minister Vijay Goel. He was claiming that there are criminal and corruption cases against me. The case against me is not a criminal case, it is a political case," a livid Chautala said. "Mr Goel has failed in his responsibility as a sports minister. I would advise him to fulfil his responsibility as sports minister because if he does that, our medal count will increase manifold and he will get credit for that. Instead of getting into a controversy without knowing full facts, he should focus on his job," he added. Chautala also said that he had done enough for Olympic sports in India to deserve the IOA life president's post. Maken, meanwhile, also questioned BJP MP Anurag Thakur, BJP-ally Shiromoni Akali Dal MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and IOA sitting vice-president Tarlochan Singh for not opposing the appointments being a part of the AGM. "Today when we are talking about eradicating corruption and graft from the country we are bringing back such tainted individuals. What is the message the IOA is giving?" he asked. "Anurag Thakur, Dhindsa and Tarlochan Singh were all part of IOA Executive Committee and were there at the meeting yesterday. I request them all to take back the decision for the image of the country," Maken added. (PTI)

BJP calls for Suresh Kalmadi, Abhay Singh Chautala's removal as IOA life presidents

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Indian govt temporarily suspends Olympic body over dubious appointments

BJP calls for Suresh Kalmadi, Abhay Singh Chautala's removal as IOA life presidents