Ansari ousts Farooq as JK cricket body chief

Ishfaq Tantry

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Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 20

PDP MLA and state Sports Minister Imran Raza Ansari was today elected president of the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association today, ousting incumbent Dr Farooq Abdullah. However, a defiant Farooq said he continued to head the association. He also secured a court order which stayed outcome of election. 

This fresh turn of events comes even as the JKCA is under scanner for the multi-crore cricket scam, which involves misappropriation of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) funds provided to the JKCA from 2002 to 2011.

Supported by the PDP-BJP government, a dissident JKCA group headed by the vice president of JKCA's Jammu wing Rakesh Kumar today called a meeting of the working committee of the association at Sher-e-Kashmir stadium, Srinagar. During the meeting attended by 44 of total 64 JKCA members, Imran Ansari was elected as the association president, replacing incumbent Farooq Abdullah.

Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Asghar Hassan Samoon and Deputy Commissioner, Youth Services and Sports, were observers. 

Ex-bureaucrat-turned-politician Mehboob Iqbal was elected new chairman of the JKCA, replacing Arvinder Singh Micky. Iqbal Shah was elected new JKCA general secretary, Abdul Rauf treasurer, Mohammad Ashraf joint secretary and Javed Kitab new vice chairman of the JKCA.

However, Farooq Abdullah, who was in the town and did not attend the meeting, termed the meeting as unconstitutional and refused to accept the outcome of the elections, saying he continued to be the president.

"As per rules of the JKCA, elections are held in a working committee meeting, which is presided over by the president and for which a notification is to be issued by the elected general secretary", Farooq said in a statement, adding that even as per a high court ruling, working committee meetings are to be presided over by the president.

Farooq said the sponsors of today's 'unlawful' meeting and elections 'are afraid of the outcome of the ongoing police investigation in the FIR 2012 for which a PIL is there before the high court'. 

A court in Jammu today granted stay on the elections following a petition moved by Jammu Bar Association president Abinav Sharma on behalf of the ousted JKCA chairman Arvinder Singh Micky.

Buoyed by the outcome of the meeting, Imran Ansari told the Tribune that the as per the JKCA constitution, elections to the association are mandated on the completion of one-year term of the incumbents.

"After being elected today, I have already taken charge of the JKCA. If Farooq was so sure of support to himself he should have attended today's meeting", Imran said, adding that he was not aware of any court orders and he had not received any notice.