BCCI secretary Amitabh Choudhary said the SGM was called as per the instructions of acting president CK Khanna © PTI
The BCCI has been forced to put off the special general meeting (SGM) scheduled for Tuesday to ratify the three Lodha Committee recommendations shortlisted for reconsideration by the Supreme Court.
The postponement was because four state associations – Tamil Nadu, Saurashtra, Kerala and Goa – objected to the short notice given for scheduling the SGM, saying it did not comply with BCCI regulations. The BCCI will now issue a 15-day notice for the next date of the SGM; the minimum notice is ten days.
According to a BCCI official, the delay will not hinder the decision taken by the special committee, which was appointed to shortlist which Lodha Committee recommendations to put forth for reconsideration. “The special committee had met twice and three points were finally shortlisted,” the board official said. “That was all communicated to the COA. It will file a status report in any case.”
Tuesday’s postponement is another example of the delaying tactics used by a section of the BCCI’s members who are against implementing the Lodha Committee recommendations, ever since the Supreme Court of India approved them in an order on July 18, 2016.
At the previous SGM on June 27, the BCCI members were made aware of the lack of time to finalise the recommendations ahead of the Supreme Court hearing on July 14. Former BCCI president N Srinivasan, who was not in favour of the BCCI adopting a new constitution as per the Lodha Committee’s recommendations, was present at that June 27 SGM as the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association’s (TNCA) representative.
On July 8, BCCI secretary Amitabh Choudhary had said in an email that the SGM had been called on July 11 as per the instructions of acting board president CK Khanna, and that the short notice was subject to the approval of the members.
On July 10, the TNCA was the first to lodge a protest against the two-day notice for the SGM; its secretary RI Palani said it was “illegal”. “The meeting, should it be convened on July11, 2017, would be illegal and all decisions taken there would be of no consequence.”
According to Palani, it was a “critical requirement” for members to have enough time to discuss the recommendations and the implications of implementing them. “Curtailing this process is antithetical to the democratic principles on which the BCCI and its members are based.”
Nagraj Gollapudi is a senior assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo