Agencies
New Delhi, May 6
Former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi who is facing a life ban by the BCCI has been elected Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) president. As per a Supreme Court order, the results of the RCA elections, held in December last year, were declared in Jaipur on Tuesday.
Somendra Tiwari was elected as the new secretary and Pawan Goyal will hold the treasurer's post. Mehmood M Abdi, legal counsel of Modi, has been elected as the deputy president of the RCA. Modi won by a landslide margin, with 24 out of 33 votes being cast in his favour while his opponent Rampal Sharma received only five.Following the declaration , Modi said his aim is to return the state cricket association to its former glory.
"My top priority would be to bring RCA back to its former glory. To do that we need to rectify the house within. We need to introspect and see what went wrong. And this time I want to build a system which just will not fall apart irrespective of who runs the RCA," Modi told espncricinfo in an interview on Tuesday.
Modi also did not rule out a return to the BCCI fold. "I am not denying that. We have to cleanse cricket. The Supreme Court has helped in that activity by appointing Justice Mudgal panel to probe the allegations of corruption in the IPL," he said.
"We know the result he (Modi) is a clear winner. He has 26 out of 33 votes," the cricket board had already conceded before a SC bench comprising justices AR Dave and JS Khehar while successfully opposing the opening of sealed envelope containing the result earlier this year in January.
The BCCI has vehemently opposed Modi's return to Indian cricket administration with a warning that Rajasthan faces expulsion from the board if Modi becomes the state cricket association's president.
The BCCI had imposed a life ban on Modi in September 2013 for alleged irregularities when he headed the IPL from 2008 to 2010. He was allowed to contest the elections on the basis of Rajasthan Sports Act, which does not recognise the BCCI ban.
The Indian cricket board had opposed Modi's candidature for the post. The board's laywer said that Modi's passport has been revoked by the Mumbai Regional Passport Office after the Enforcement Directorate probe; he cannot run the daily affairs of the RCA while sitting in London, and as per the BCCI's rules and regulations he is ineligible to contest the RCA elections.
BCCI ‘indefinitely’ suspends RCA
Just hours after Lalit Modi was declared the president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association in Jaipur on Tuesday, the BCCI has “indefinitely” suspended RCA and appointed an ad-hoc body to run its cricket affairs.
“The BCCI President has indefinitely suspended RCA from participating in any BCCI activity. The decision has been taken as per the constitution clause No. 32, sub—clause 7, where the president has the right to suspend an association, which doesn’t conform with the rules and regulations of the BCCI. The decision was taken by interim president Shivlal Yadav,” BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said.
Asked if the chances of Rajasthan players being selected in various national teams will be affected because of this development, Patel said: “BCCI is pro-player. Our endeavour will be to look after the cricketers from Rajasthan. We will be forming an Ad-hoc body which will run cricket in Rajasthan, taking care of the interest of the players.”
The election was conducted in December last year but the results were sealed following a Supreme Court directive. After much deliberation, the result was finally announced by a court-appointed observer today.
As expected Modi won by a landslide margin, polling in 24 out of 33 votes, while his opponent Rampal Sharma earned just five.
The banned administrator, who has been living in London for the past four years, was allowed to contest the RCA elections held on December 19 last year under the supervision of a Supreme Court-appointed observer.
The BCCI disciplinary committee, comprising Arun Jaitley, and Jyotiraditya Scindia, had submitted a 134-page report in July, 2013, in which it had found Modi guilty of financial irregularities, indiscipline and “actions detrimental to the interest of the BCCI’”.
Later last year, the apex court made its retired judge Justice Kasliwal a principal observer to oversee the RCA elections. The elections had become contentious because Modi was in the fray for the president-ship.
Challenging the election, the BCCI pleaded that Modi should not have been allowed to contest and the election be quashed.
