NEW DELHI: Having sought the removal of BCCI office-bearers before the Supreme Court, the Committee of Administrators (CoA) Thursday took away whatever little functioning powers acting president CK Khanna, secretary Amitabh Choudhary and treasurer Anirudh Chaudhary had.
Vinod Rai and Diana Edulji have also stopped the three from using BCCI funds to meet legal expenses to contest Lodha panel recommendations.
The CoA has also asked the office-bearers to stop taking decisions on their own. Though these guidelines are not very different from the directions issued earlier, the CoA has also said, “Any employee/retainer/consultant of BCCI who receives a communication from any office-bearer and finds that the same is not copied to the CEO and/or the Committee of Administrators, shall immediately forward the same to the CEO and/or the Committee of Administrators, as the case may be.”
Last week, the secretary had refused to sign the new contracts for players as he was not part of deliberations when it came to finalising details. As reported by this newspaper, even the selectors didn’t compile the list, a move that clearly irked Choudhary, as he also happens to be the convener of selectors.
With him refusing to sign, players’ insurance has not been renewed. However, office-bearers believe that the latest diktats are nothing but a method to stop them from raising questions.
To put an end to this practice of office-bearers refusing to accept CoA decisions, they have now been given a new time-frame.
“The acting secretary shall continue to sign all contracts/appointment letters on behalf of the BCCI. However, if a contract/appointment letter that has been approved by the CoA is not signed by the acting secretary within reasonable time not exceeding 5 working days, the CoA may direct the CEO to sign such contract/appointment letter. Once a contract/appointment letter has been signed by the CEO as per the directions of the Committee of Administrators, the same shall be binding on BCCI,” the directive reads.
This has not amused the office-bearers.
“As office-bearers we have the responsibility to not disrupt BCCI functions and have to be equally careful about the administrative aspect. When it came to players’ contracts, none of us were informed and in such a case, how can the secretary sign? The usual procedures were not followed and that is why there is some reluctance on the part of the office-bearers to sign the contracts,” an official told Express.
Last week, even the treasurer had questioned the CoA’s intentions to appoint a General Manager (Marketing), saying that the position was not recommended by the Lodha committee.