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Pandemonium ruled at the All India Chess Federation elections here today: walkouts, allegations, counter-allegations and adjournments. Dhiraj Raghuvanshi claimed he had pipped PT
Ummer Koya to the post of honorary secretary. R K Singh was his new president. While the rest of the posts were `decided' as per Raghuvanshi's wishes, Koya presented a different picture and feared for the future of chess in India.
There was a vertical split with both factions claiming to be the real body. The Annual General Meeting, scheduled for today, never took place, asserted the outgoing president Druv Sawhney while Raghuvanshi, now heading the rival faction, claimed elections were held.
"The AGM could not take place. There was no quorum hence there is no question of elections. It is most unfortunate but disruptions of the kind I have never seen before made it impossible to carry on with the meeting," Sawhney said. "There was never any question of quorum," countered
Raghuvanshi. "The issue of quorum could have been decided had there been a voters' list beforehand and had a returning officer been appointed,'' he said.
Sawhney admitted there were certain issues which needed to be
"re-addressed and that would be done at another AGM to be called soon". "We have got several complaints including the issue of appointing of returning officer, publishing of the voters' list and scrutiny of nominees and we want to address these after referring it to the General Council," he said. Rahguvanshi said he won't allow another AGM to be held as he had not been informed about the postponement of the one 'held' today. "We shall see which court in India allows holding of the new AGM," signed off Raghuvanshi. While the two warring groups plan their next move, a government-appointed observer, MP Ganeshan, who was present during the meeting, is expected to forward a report to the Sports Ministry. |
