CHENNAI: In an interesting development, senior vice-president RK Anand, one of the three members supposed to go to Lausanne for a meeting with the International Committee on September 27, has expressed his inability to board the flight.
Anand, a senior administrator in the IOA, told this newspaper that he will not go because of health reasons.
Anand said that he had contracted Covid earlier and since then he had not been in good health. "I am not well and due to health reasons I will not be able to go and attend the meeting," he said. He was one of the members who had been trying to find a way out of this mess.
It needs to be seen who would board the flight if Anand doesn't go. IOA officials too are in a spot. Though the IOA is locked in a bitter fight between two factions, Anand is considered one of the more acceptable faces in the IOA. It needs to be seen if he could be persuaded to change his mind.
The IOC sent a letter after its Executive Board meeting on September 8 and warned IOA that it will be suspended if elections are not held as per the existing constitution and under the provisions of the IOC Charter. It also proposed a joint meeting on September 27 and said that IOA secretary general Rajeev Mehta will be the main point of contact for communications.
Mehta later told this newspaper that three members from the IOA would be going to Lausanne -- Mehta and the two senior vice-presidents Anand and Anil Khanna.
Things might take an interesting turn after the Supreme Court's order on Monday. According to the order by the division bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Hima Kohli, "two broad suggestions have been placed before the Court by the Solicitor General". This was in response to an SLP filed by the IOA and an application by senior advocate Rahul Mehra.
The order said that "the first suggestion is that a former Judge of the Supreme Court may be appointed for the purpose of (i) Amending the constitution of the Indian Olympic Association; (ii) Preparing the electoral college; and (iii) Conducting the elections."
According to the order, "The second suggestion is that until the elections are held, the administration of the Indian Olympic Association is entrusted to a neutral person who shall coordinate with the International Olympic Committee in terms of the letter dated 8 September 2022 of the Director of Olympic Solidarity and NOC Relations of the IOC. The IOC has proposed to hold a joint meeting on 27 September 2022 in Lausanne and it is all the more necessary, therefore, to have clarity on the person who shall coordinate with the IOC."
And for that purpose, "To facilitate this exercise, the Secretary in the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports is permitted to interact with the Director of Olympic Solidarity and NOC Relations of the IOC and revert back to this Court on the next date of listing."
Mehra through his application has prayed that the status quo on the Delhi High Court order that the appointed Committee of Administrators is lifted. The Centre through its SG Tushar Mehta and the IOA had requested the court to refrain the CoA from taking over as it could attract suspension from the IOC for third-party interference.
After the SC order, there has been quite a consternation in the IOA as well. It is not known whether the three, as Mehta had said, would even be able to go to Lausanne for the September 27 meeting. It will be interesting to see how the IOC reacts if the court appoints an independent administrator.