Explained: What is the ongoing controversy between IOA president PT Usha and Executive Committee members?

PT Usha, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president, has been recently embroiled in a controversy with the Executive Committee (EC) members of the board, after the former athlete said that it was “deeply concerning” that the EC has failed to organise a formal felicitation ceremony for India’s medal-winning athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics. India won six medals at the Paris Olympics, including five bronze medals and one silver. “

‘Deeply concerning’

“These athletes have made the nation proud, and it is the responsibility of the IOA to celebrate their achievements with the respect they deserve. It is deeply concerning that, even after returning home in mid-August, the EC has failed to discuss or take any steps towards organizing a formal felicitation ceremony,” Usha had said in a statement on Monday.

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Sahdev Yadav, the IOA treasurer, however, hit back at Usha, claiming that her statement was just a “blatant lie”.  there has been no discussion with EC members nor any official proposal in writing for organizing a felicitation ceremony for the medallists of Paris Olympics 2024,” he said. He also accused the former Asian Games medalist of “cooking up” facts, rather than taking responsibilities. “We fail to understand why IOA President is spreading lies across the whole country, to put down the EC members, which does not have any proof nor hold any genuine ground.

“Her repeated efforts and proposals is nothing but blatant lies which has been cooked by the President every now and then and shedding crocodile tears in front of the media,” he added.

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Controversy over Raghuram Iyer’s appointment

This is, however, not the first time that controversy has erupted within the IOA. Raghuram Iyer was appointed the CEO of IOA on 5 January, but a month later, in February, the IOA’s EC members revolted against Usha over his appointment, with at least 10 out of the 15 members signing an order that demanded the suspension of Raghuram, with the members terming his appointment as “null and void”. The EC members even termed Raghuram’s appointment as “totally misplaced and blatantly illegal”.

While Usha has backed Iyer’s appointment, the EC members have unanimously chosen to demand for his removal as IOA CEO. The feud is with regards to Iyer’s salary of Rs 20 lakh per month, which comes along with a few perks.

An EC meeting was held on 26 September after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) insisted to do so, but Usha and the EC have remained at loggerheads. The Kerala-born former athlete held her fort during the meeting, rejecting the demand to remove Iyer and on Saturday, a dozen members of the EC wrote a letter to Jerome Poivey, a senior IOC official, where they accused her of functioning the IOA in an “autocratic” manner after she stood her ground with the appointment of Iyer.

Usha, however, has termed the accusations as “malicious” and “false” and claimed that their motive was to undervalue her leadership qualities.