IOA President PT Usha calls 'no confidence motion' against her invalid

Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President P T Usha has called the 'no-confidence motion' against her invalid and claimed a 'group' instigated by Kalyan Chaubey, president of All India Football Federation (AIFF), was behind disrupting the functioning of IOA.

In a press release shared on social media, Usha accused Chaubey (also Joint Secretary of IOA) of impersonation and said she did not authorise him to convene any meeting or promulgate an agenda for the Special General Meeting (SGM) on October 25.

Usha has also barred the IOA members from taking instructions from Chaubey and the rest of the Executive Council members.

On Wednesday, Chaubey issued a circular on official IOA letterhead with an agenda of 26 items for the SGM. 'No confidence motion' against Usha was one of the items on the agenda. Chaubey, in his circular, had said the action against Usha was "in light of alleged constitutional violations and actions potentially detrimental to Indian sports".

Usha claimed that 'certain members' of the IOA Executive Council have withheld the salary of Raghuram Iyer, the CEO of the IOA, for the past nine months. "Importantly, both the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports recognise Mr Iyer as the legitimate CEO of IOA," Usha said.