New Delhi: The bizarre move by the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) asking the India captain Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri to decide on travel schedule of the WAGs has not just taken the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials by surprise, but also former Chief Justice RM Lodha. It was the former CJI panel’s proposals that were the yardstick for the formation of the new BCCI constitution, but Lodha is surprised at how things have panned out in the last two years.
Lodha said that now that Ethics Officer DK Jain is there, he should take a stand and stop any move that is against the newly-registered constitution as per the proposals of the Lodha panel.
“What can I say? The Ethics Officer is there now to decide. What do I say? Everyone is interpreting it (the Lodha panel’s proposals) in their own way. Our recommendations are in place and based on that I was told the constitution was framed. As and when issue arises, the Ethics Officer should take a call,” Lodha told this agency.
Lodha is clearly disappointed because the CoA has failed to follow the brief and implement the new constitution. He points out that there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel.
“Absolutely nothing has happened in two years. We wanted to see the report being implemented as approved by the Supreme Court, but more than two years have passed and we don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel,” asserted the former CJI.
Asked if the formation of the CoA has actually helped, as even the BCCI office-bearers seem to be surprised by some of the changes suggested by the committee, Lodha said: “It is a matter of interpretation and competence.”
A senior BCCI official said that the move to allow the captain (Virat Kohli) and coach (Ravi Shastri at present) to decide on the travel duration and plan of the WAGs was a clear case of conflict of interest.
“The essence of conflict of interest is that when you are taking a decision of which you are yourself a beneficiary, it is a conflict. I think the CoA is like an unfettered entity which has moved away from any limitations it may have originally perceived on account of the Supreme Court order on the Lodha Committee report,” said the BCCI official on condition of anonymity.
“Many decisions taken by them are in complete violation of not just the new BCCI constitution, but also in violation of the Lodha Committee report. The Lodha Committee report’s foundation lay on tackling conflict of interest issues. And the CoA in their task of administration seems to have come up with the same issues of conflict of interest and it seems they wish to do away with the whole concept,” he added.
The same sentiments were echoed by another official. “Some of the recent decisions of the CoA clearly show that they feel they are above the apex court because certain decisions they have taken can only be taken by the honourable court,” it stated.
It will be interesting to see how Ethics Officer Jain interprets this whole decision because a member of the CoA itself has made it clear that the resolution taken in the meeting wasn’t a unanimous one.
IANS