IOA to decide Kalmadi's fate tomorrow

New Delhi: Faced with intense pressure from the IOC to act against Suresh Kalmadi, the IOA’s Executive Board meets here tomorrow to decide the fate of its tainted President who has not formally resigned from the post yet. The IOC has written three letters to the IOA, threatening to act on its own if the national sports apex body does not explain what action it was planning to take against Kalmadi who is facing corruption charges related to the Commonwealth Games. [caption id=“attachment_231072” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Faced with intense pressure from the IOC to act against Suresh Kalmadi, the IOA’s Executive Board meets in Delhi tomorrow to decide the fate of its tainted president who has not formally resigned from the post yet.”]  [/caption] The Kalmadi issue will be debated at length in the meeting and the members will be apprised of the three letters by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The ratification of its newly-formed Ethics Commission and framing of the rules and regulations for the various Commissions were also listed in the agenda. The run-up to the crucial meeting has been marked by bitter internal wranglings between the pro-Kalmadi and the rival factions and tomorrow’s meeting is expected to be stormy. Despite the pressure from the IOC, Kalmadi, who spent nine months in jail because of corruption charges in the hosting of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, has not resigned from the IOA President’s post. The sacked Commonwealth Games OC Chairman had recently shot off a letter to IOA Acting-President VK Malhotra, stating that he will not exert his rights and obligations as President of the IOA. “The Kalmadi issue will be discussed at length. We will hear the views of all the members before taking a decision. But we have to realise that a person is innocent till proven guilty”, a top IOA official said. “The matter is in court. We just cannot throw out somebody till the verdict has come out. We have to be a little patient”, the source said. However, the anti-Kalmadi faction within the IOA have stepped up pressure and want the veteran adminstrator to formally resign from the post. “If he says he has no time because of the court cases, why is he not resigning from the post. Why is he deliberately keeping open the option to comeback”, said an official opposed to Kalmadi. The IOC, in another letter, has directed the IOA to furnish the details on the status on Kalmadi, who was granted bail by the Delhi High Court on 19 January and the executive body will look to sort out the issue tomorrow. Another issue which can trigger sparks in the meeting is the ratification of the Ethics Committee. The earlier Ethics Committee had ‘suspended’ Kalmadi and issued a show-cause notice to him. The Commission was controversially disbanded at the AGM on 15 December and a new one was constituted later with the addition of two more retired judges. PTI