Hailing the decision of the Supreme Court to appoint a two-member committee to oversee reforms in the Cricket Board after the removal of two top BCCI officials, some Olympians and Arjuna Awardees from other disciplines backed ex-cricketers Bishen Bedi and Kirti Azad to undertake the task. "The Hon. Supreme Court has given the onerous responsibility of suggesting names of eminent people who shall comprise a committee to oversee reforms in BCCI and state bodies which have been bedevilled by controversies and malfeasance," they said in a media statement following the apex court's ejection of Anurag Thakur and Ajay Shirke as President and Secretary of the BCCI.
His background as an Indian Institute of Technology graduate and as a chief minister with an excellent track record as an administrator equipped him to initiate defence industry and policy reforms that are only now beginning to bear fruit.
US deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said the US raised the issue directly at the most senior levels of the Indian government.
Addressing reporters at his residence soon after the meeting ended, Chowdhury said six names came up before the panel for the selection of the two ECs and the names of Sandhu and Kumar were finalised by a majority of members of the high-powered panel.
Even though the NIA claims that more than 90 per cent of cases charge-sheeted have ended in conviction, the figure is likely misleading. To date, very few cases investigated by the NIA have resulted in a completed trial, points out former CBI joint director Navneet Rajan Wasan.
Veteran banker Vikram Limaye will soon leave BCCI's Committee of Administrators to head the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and that will a big loss to the the already trimmed panel, said COA member Diana Edulji.
It is learnt that all 37 affiliated units have communicated with the BCCI with 24 submissions taking place while 13 others have given in writing that they have started the process.
Senior bureaucrat Tarun Bajaj was appointed revenue secretary as part of a top-level bureaucratic reshuffle by the Centre on Tuesday.
'I hope that Macho Man agrees to debate her, because I think she will do spectacularly well in the debate.'
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Anurag Thakur, on Monday, asserted that the Indian cricket board is ready to implement the Lodha Panel recommendations but added that the state cricket associations are still confused over the reforms.
Why did the political system in the country react to these two decisions of the Modi government in a diametrically opposite manner? asks A K Bhattacharya.
Reforms in the Board of Control for Cricket in India will not pull the cash-rich body back, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday and made it clear that it does not intend to reduce the popularity of the BCCI or hinder its growth but wants structural reforms which would make the cricket body more transparent.
Board of Control for Cricket(BCCI) president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke were removed by the Supreme Court on Monday for not complying with its order to implement administrative reforms within the body.
There is nothing to be worried about as bilateral ties are robust with solid foundations. Both are on the same page on the economic and defence/security ties bilaterally and globally and that shall continue irrespective of change in political dispensation in either country, points out Dr Rajaram Panda.
In a major initiative to bring transparency and speed up decisions on tenders, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has dissociated himself from the process and empowered zonal railways and heads of production units to finalise them.
The only reform that has been adopted was 'handbook for Disabled cricketers' which BCCI has released, which is point No. 8 as per first timeline.
The Committee of Administrators (COA) instructed all the state units to sign a draft resolution prepared by them in order to get funds for hosting India's international matches this season.
Rahul Gandhi's yatra was marked with high drama on Monday as he was denied permission to visit the Sri Sri Sankardeva Satra in Nagaon district and also from holding a meeting in the Morigaon district, triggering a strong reaction from the Congress leader who protested and asked whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi will now 'decide who will visit a temple and when'.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Friday said recommendations of two panels on replacing the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, in force in some northeastern states, with a more humane law would soon be placed before the Cabinet.
Ganguly's current nine-month stint will get an extension if the BCCI dilutes the specific reform on tenure-cap as mandated by the SC-appointed Lodha Committee.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India's Committee of Administrators (COA) will meet Bangladesh Cricket Board chief Nazmul Hasan Papon on Wednesday to discuss the proposed constitutional reforms in the International Cricket Council along with the revenue sharing model.
'Vinod Rai has been complete failure in implementing Lodha reforms'
The Supreme Court on Thursday said it is willing to consider modifying earlier verdict on 'one state, one vote' and interpretation of cooling-off period for the BCCI office bearers in reforms suggested by the Justice Lodha Committee.
Spelling out practical problems it has encountered in implementing the Justice Lodha committee's reforms in the Board of Control for Cricket in India and its affiliates in totality, Mumbai Cricket Association said it already has in place measures that, by and large, jell well with the reform process.
BCCI senior vice president Gokaraju Gangaraju made it clear that his association Andhra Cricket Association will implement the Lodha reforms with immediate effect.
Trying to rebuild its tattered image after a spate of controversies, the BCCI is waiting anxiously for the Justice Lodha Committee's report which is set to recommend a host of reforms for the cricket body on Monday. While the three-member committee comprising Justice (Retd) RM Lodha, Justice (Retd) Ashok Bhan and Justice (Retd)RV Raveendran is set to submit their report to the Supreme Court, the BCCI will be keenly watching the proceedings as to whether the Apex Court makes the recommendations binding or not.
In a scathing status report, the Committee of Administrators (CoA) has described N Srinivasan and Niranjan Shah as "disqualified office bearers with vested interest", who are trying to stall implementation of Lodha reforms.
A historian, a retired auditor and a financial executive were among four people named by India's highest court on Monday to run the country's cricket board (BCCI).
The National Security Strategy document should flag all major issues concerning security strategy and provide guidelines to concerned departments to work out suitable action plans. Since the global and regional geopolitical canvas is dynamic, the NSS document should be deliberated at length before formulation and should be reviewed periodically, recommends Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
The broad direction for the reform process will continue to be positive.
Non-compliant state units like Tamil Nadu and Haryana risk losing their voting rights in the BCCI but their cricketing activities will not be affected after the elections, COA chief Vinod Rai said.
Vinod Rai welcomed the Supreme Court order on mandatory cooling off period for Board of Control for Cricket in India office-bearers after two consecutive terms and for putting a roadmap in place for the Board's elections.
It also suggested that the IPC provision related to adultery should be retained in the Sanhita by making it gender neutral "for the sake of protecting the institution of marriage".
Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International has said that the ICC must tackle corruption both on and off the pitch that challenge the integrity of cricket by strengthening its own governance and by using its influence to promote high standards in national Boards.
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter acknowledged on Friday that he failed to reform the scandal-ridden world soccer organisation but asserted he was not responsible for corruption in its regional organisations.
A marathon session of over a dozen hearings on implementation of Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha panel recommendations on structural reforms in the Board of Control for Cricket in India came to an end on Wednesday in the Supreme Court, which took the Indian cricket board to task over issues like fund utilisation and avoiding of performance audits.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi should avoid visiting the birthplace of Srimanta Sankardeva at Batadrava on January 22, as there can be no competition between Lord Ram and the medieval age Vaishnav saint revered as an icon in the state.
The resistance to Lodha panel reforms remains deep rooted in the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
Pushed into a corner by the Supreme Court after failing to comply with the Justice R M Lodha Panel recommendations, the beleaguered Board of Control for Cricket in India appears to have been left with no option but to adopt them in totality at its Special General Meeting in Mumbai on Friday.
The Supreme Court on Friday left it to a panel headed by former Chief Justice of India R M Lodha to consider the feasibility of opening and looking into the sealed envelope, containing names of some players allegedly involved in the IPL spot-fixing case, submitted by Justice Mukul Mudgal Committee.
