NEW DELHI: A defiant Judo Federation of India (JFI) president Mukesh Kumar has refused to step down despite the government’s directive, saying his election to the top post did not violate the controversial tenure guidelines of the Sports Code.
Last month, the sports ministry asked Kumar to relinquish the post, saying a cooling-off period of four years is necessary before a secretary seeks re-election after two successive terms.
Kumar served as the secretary general of JFI for two terms before taking over the post of president from Jagdish Tytler in August 2013. He was unanimously elected as JFI president during its annual general meeting in Imphal without serving the cooling-off period.
In a letter to the sports ministry, Kumar said that the cooling-off period in the tenure guidelines was applicable to only a secretary/treasurer seeking re-election to the same post (secretary/treasurer) after serving two consecutive terms.