Chandigarh Olympic Association: President-secretary fight out in open

Deepankar Sharda

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Chandigarh, September 7

It seems all is not well in the Chandigarh Olympic Association (COA).

While it is planning to collect Rs 40 lakh to conduct the state games in October with the help of an educational trust, its president has sent a letter to its general secretary, addressing the latter’s failures in performing constitutional duties.

Amrinder Singh Bazaz, president, COA, has written to its general secretary NS Thakur to provide minutes of the last executive meeting held on August 14, 2021. He also asked Thakur to provide account details of the association and cautioned him against withdrawing any funds from its account. He also stressed on providing balance sheets of the last two years (attested by a chartered accountant).

“I have written a letter to him (Thakur) as it’s our primary duty to have a transparent functioning. I have been asking for the minutes for the past two years to conduct the next meeting (if needed). Various cheques have been signed by me and I have asked him to submit details about expenditure or kits issued to the players in the National Games,” said Bazaz.

“The president is asking about the meeting’s minutes after two years of elections. Nevertheless, these had already been submitted to him, but he refused to sign these. I have all records. I am writing a letter to him on Friday, attaching all communications submitted with proofs. This is his second letter while the earlier one was sent on WhatsApp. I have also asked him to provide details of accounts managed during his previous term, so that we can operate these. The audit will be done by the treasurer and not the secretary,” said Thakur.

Bazaz, on the other hand, further stated in the letter, “Despite my repeated requests, you (Thakur) have not prepared the minutes of the meeting (2021). The oversight has resulted in the inability to finalise the executive committee meeting and annual general meeting (AGM). I, hereby ask you to submit these details within seven days of this letter.”

It further adds that, “I advise you to present accounts of the association. I must caution you to not withdraw any funds from the association’s funds without authorisation. You obtained the signatures of president and treasurer during the last National Games. This was done for smooth functioning. Therefore, the remaining unused cheques should be used only after taking appropriate approval. I advise you to also submit audit reports of the last two years.” Planning a coup?

This letter has come at a time when several allegations are doing the rounds regarding a ‘coup’ in the COA. As per sources, some of the primary office-bearers are approaching their affiliated units in order to take their consent before making changes in the COA’s constitution. After taking the consent, the plans are to call a meeting and change the head of the association. “All this is planned. The COA had never honoured local players in the past few years, but it did this time. The event was conducted with the help of a local educational society. The same society announced to sponsor the state games, and now this letter,” said a source.

Not new to controversy

The COA is not new to such controversies. While the association has failed to conduct the state games in the last 14 years, the infighting among members has emerged on regular intervals. Interestingly, this time these two office-bearers, who were arm-in-arm during the 2021 elections, are at loggerheads now.