SOUTH
Even as rumours are rife that heads, including that of Olympian Anju Bobby George, would roll in the Kerala Sports Council, the athlete who complained of insult from Sports Minister EP Jayarajan has written an open letter to the minister demanding probe into the alleged corruption in the council. A personal and emotional note at the outset, the political connotations of the letter and the direct references to the projects implemented during the previous Left government, show that she is in a combative mode after being stung by criticism from the Left camp.
Also read: Minister behaved rudely, called me corrupt: Anju Bobby George
In response to the minister’s jibe that she was taking undue allowances from the government including airfare from Bengaluru to Thiruvananthapuram, Anju declared that she would return Rs.40,000 she received as reimbursement of air ticket for the past six months.
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In her letter, Anju demanded probe into the allegations of corruption in the Sports Council. “But the government should bring the transactions of the council for the past ten years under the scanner and not just of the six months in which we governed the body,” the athlete demanded.
“The bricks used for building it (Munnar High Altitude Training Centre) must have been moulded in the furnace of corruption for sure,” Anju Bobby George
In her first official meeting with the minister, the latter had allegedly shouted at the renowned athlete and said that the council was fraught with corruption. He had also threatened to teach the council members a lesson.
Also read: Pinarayi Vijayan defends minister
Though very polite at the outset, the open letter by the Olympian was not without barbs. While demanding probe into the corruption in the sports promotion council, she makes it clear that the corruption of the past ten years or more should be investigated. That means the financial dealings and contracts during the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF), would also come under the gambit. It may be noted that the council had stood under the cloud of allegations when LDF nominees governed it.
She also listed a few big projects, all brought in during the previous LDF rule, and felt that those projects smacked corruption.
Here’s the list of projects Anju wants the govt. to probe:
- Munnar High Altitude Training Centre- After six years, the building is a mess. Leakage and damaged tracks rendered of no use. “The bricks used for building it must have been moulded in the furnace of corruption for sure,” Anju wrote.
- Sports lottery in 2006. Collected Rs.24 crores. Rs.22 spent, and the rest of the money just disappeared. “The lottery used my photograph too,” she recalled.
- Lakhs of rupees wasted on synthetic track in Maharaja’s College, Kochi.
- Indoor Stadiums converted to wedding halls.
- Swimming pools, a cesspool of corruption.
Anju’s demand that a probe should be of wider scope is widely considered to be a long-range shot aimed at TP Dasan, a CPM leader and former Sports Council President, who is widely tipped to replace the Olympian. The reference to the Sports Lottery in the letter is considered to be aimed at Dasan, who had come under the lens for the alleged corruption.
Even though Jayarajan had denied allegations that he had behaved rudely and that he called Anju corrupt, many reports emerged casting doubts on the six-month long tenure of the Olympian at the top of the council.
In replying to the allegations that she appointed her relatives in key posts, Anju demanded that the appointments to the council should be left the Kerala Public Service Commission.
Denying the allegations emotionally, Anju stated that a sports person like her, who stood at the podium holding the Tricolour with pride and tears in the eyes, cannot sell sports for money. She also pointed out that the president of the council does not draw a salary.