Kalmadi in the know,Bhanot forced dissolution of IWLF panel

It was done months ahead of the CWG,Kalmadi had knowledge of it,says affidavit by former IWLF general secretary Squadron Leader B R Gulati.

Weightlifter Karnam Malleswaris resignation as Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF) vice-president saying she was disgusted at the way the body was functioning unconstitutionally,has brought to light an affidavit filed by former IWLF general secretary,Squadron Leader (retd) B R Gulati,alleging that former general secretary of the Commonwealth Games (CWG) Organising Committee (OC) Lalit Bhanot had,in the knowledge of Suresh Kalmadi,compelled the dissolution of the IWLF Executive Committee (EC). This was months before the CWG,when Kalmadi was the CWG Organising Committee chairman,stated the affidavit,dated April 13.

Gulati,referring to a doping scandal in Pune in October 2009,when five Indian lifters were tested positive and the federation was fined half-a-million dollars by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF),said in the affidavit,I was IWLF general secretary when the dope test of five weightlifters was carried out in Pune. I had suggested to Kalmadi that we work towards paying the penalty to IWF and request them to relax the ban on our players participating in the games,since none of those tested positive was part of the actual CWG team.

Narrating a series of events that followed,the affidavit stated,I was called by Bhanot and told on a short notice of three days that the EC needs to be dissolved and it was done. In the first week of December 2009,Bhanot decided to hold,on December 24,a Special General Meeting (SGM) to fill vacant posts. On December 15-16 Bhanot bullied me to amend the agenda of the meeting as re-election of the members… They made me make this amendment pre-dated to December 3-4. This was in violation of the constitution of the federation in two aspects,that it needs a 21-day notice for an agenda to be included in the meeting and that election of members cannot be done in an SGM but in an Annual General Meeting (AGM). I was not only forced to change the agenda,but consent was obtained from other members over phone.

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Talking to this paper,Gulati said that not only did Bhanot appoint members of his own choice,but also re-elected 16 of the 18 members of the earlier EC. Bhanot dissolved the committee saying that is what the chairman (Kalmadi) wants. After all this,when I finally met the president of the IWF,he told me that the IWF had never asked for dissolution of the committee and only penalising coaches/ physiotherapists and weightlifters, said Gulati. He alleged,Bhanot used the opportunity to get to power people he wanted to be there. The dissolution was not sought by IWF but conspired by Bhanot,Kalmadi knew of it.

Malleswari said on Saturday,The body is unconstitutional and filled with people who have no affection for the sport.

When this paper contacted BP Baishya,president,IWLF,he said,I am in Assam and can comment only when I see the letters.

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