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Journalism of Courage
The new year began on a sour note for the sporting bureaucracy, with Sports Authority of India (SAI) director general Jiji Thomson quitting from his position with immediate effect on Friday owing to a few internal wranglings.
Thomson, a 1980 batch IAS officer, has requested for immediate repatriation to his parent cadre Kerala earlier this week. The Kerala government has offered him the position of chief secretary, which he has accepted. It is believed that the cabinet secretary has approved the move, with a formal order expected early next week.
Thomson claimed the central government dilly-dallied on his ‘promised’ promotion as sports secretary for six months. Sports minister Sarbananda Sonowal too lobbied for Thomson’s promotion but bureaucratic hurdles at various levels meant the move never materialized. Thomson said he wasn’t promoted as he did ‘not have any patrons in the government.’
“I waited for six months and I have decided no more wastage of time. Despite repeated assurances from the government, nothing happened. The situation required me to stay in the role at least till the Olympics,” Thomson said. “If someone is there at the helm of affairs, he should be given adequate time, at least three if not five years, to implement long-term plans.” he said.
National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) director general GSG Ayyangar is tipped to replace Thomson as SAI DG. During his term, Thomson swiftly dealt with issues at SAI more often than not and was credited for shaking up the stagnant coaching system.
However, it is believed a pending court case against him in Kerala came in the way of his promotion. He was one of the many accused in the palmolein oil import scam dating back to 1991 when he was a director at the Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation. The first accused in the case was former Kerala Chief Minister K. Karunakaran. “I got an order from the Kerala High Court in July. The court clearly said pendency should not be held against an IAS officer while giving him promotion if he is eligible. It has been 25 years and the Government of India has not even sanctioned the prosecution and the state government also dropped me from the accused list last year,” said Thomson.
As chief secretary of the Kerala government, Thomson’s first major assignment will be the crisis-ridden National Games, which begin on January 31. Sources suggested that if the court case against him is set aside, Sonowal may seek his return to Delhi after the National Games as the sports secretary.
Talking about his SAI stint, Thomson said lack of planning was the key reason that held the country back. “The main problem in India is not lack of infrastructure. You have enough infrastructure all around the country but it is lying unused. You have this beautiful infrastructure created for the National Games every four years and it is all lying unused. Therefore it is the lack of planning that is hurtin India most,” he said.
