Days after former Indian player and Rajya Sabha MP Harbhajan Singh accused the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) president Gulzar Inder Singh Chahal of corruption, including trying to “unlawfully” induct 150 members with voting rights in the association, Chahal resigned on Thursday evening.
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“I have resigned from the post of PCA president from immediate effect due to personal reasons,” Chahal confirmed to The Indian Express. Chahal was also facing heat over the appointment of his personal auditor for PCA, and a complaint was filed with the ethics officer and ombudsman Inderjit Singh, but he refused to address the issue. “Since I have resigned, this issue does not arise now,” Chahal said.
Chahal, a former Indian junior player, and his team was chosen earlier this year after the then PCA president Rajinder Gupta resigned six months short of his term. Last week, the members of the PCA Apex Council and executive committee had raised the issue of the new members.
“PCA is trying hard to induct 150 members with voting rights to keep the balance in their favour, and these inductions are being done without the knowledge of the apex council/general body and without consulting the Chief Advisor,” Harbhajan Singh had told this newspaper.
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An office bearer of the PCA Apex council had added, “We got to know when some of the persons came to PCA earlier this week with the alleged forms, we can call them Parchi instead and hence the complaint was filed.”
Under Chahal, the new Apex Council had not met even once for the membership of new members or other matters. According to the PCA website, PCA has more than 240 life members including former BCCI and PCA president IS Bindra, India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour, former Indian cricketers Reetinder Singh Sodhi and Dinesh Mongia, Daksh Prem Azad, grandson of Dronacharya awardee coach late DP Azad, and his father Monish Azad and others.
The PCA Apex Council member stated some people had deposited money as fee for lifetime membership earlier this week. “When the matter was inquired by us, it was found that among the 150 odd new members list, many are family members and business associates of Mr Chahal from Jalandhar and Ludhiana. These persons also deposited some money as membership fee in the PCA Bank account and hence we have sent a complaint on that basis. Other office bearers from PCA were not consulted for this,” said the member of the PCA Apex Council.
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Last week, Manjinder Singh, president of Mohali Cricket Association had filed a complaint with the PCA ethics officer about Chahal appointing a charted accountant company Ajay Alipuria and Co. as PCA auditors at a yearly remuneration of Rs 10 lakh. The same audit company manages the accounts of Patran Rice Exports, a company where Chahal is a director.
“No process was followed in appointing the Audit company for PCA and neither any bids were invited. These were in violation of rule 45 and rule 46 as per PCA constitution and Supreme Court order of 2014. Hence as a member unit of PCA, we filed the complaint with the ombudsman with all the supporting documents against PCA president Gulzar Inder Singh Chahal,” Manjinder Singh told The Indian Express.
“We were shocked to know about the appointment of the Audit company on the same day of the appointment of the new office bearers of the PCA without inviting any bid or following due process,” said another member of the Apex Council.
