Days after asserting he would formally reply to allegations of forgery and illegality in his 2017 election only after resuming office, IOA president Narinder Batra has reached out to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

In a communique to IOC president Thomas Bach on Tuesday, Batra has refuted allegations levelled by IOA vice-president Sudhanshu Mittal in his mails to the IOC and the FIH.

‘Self-motivated’

Terming the mails by Mittal self-motivated and an attempt to “damage my image and reputation as a means to project himself... as a candidate for president in the 2021 IOA elections”, Batra reiterated that “I have at no stage flouted any of the Rules and Regulations of the Indian Olympic Association or the International Hockey Federation in my election as president of the Indian Olympic Association which was held on 14 Dec. 2017.”

Referring to Mittal’s charge under Article 7.2 of the FIH Statutes that bars the FIH president from holding any national post, Batra said that the regulation came into effect on November 3, 2018, while his election as FIH president was in November 2016 and as IOA president was in December 2017.

Eligibility issue

On the issue of his ineligibility to contest IOA elections under Article 10.3 of the IOA Constitution, Batra countered that he was a Life Member of Hockey India without being an office bearer, referred to the 3-member Election Commission that cleared his inclusion in the electoral list (AITA president Praveen Mahajan had objected to it but later withdrawn the complaint) and questioned why the issue was being raised after almost three years of an election that saw Mittal himself being voted as one of the vice-presidents.