AIFF legal head asked to submit corruption evidence against President Kalyan Chaubey – Firstpost
AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey called the allegations “baseless”, accusing former legal chief Nilanjan Bhattacharjee of trying to damage his reputation.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has asked ousted AIFF legal chief Nilanjan Bhattacharjee to submit evidence of corruption allegations he leveled against national federation president Kalyan Chaubey, calling the matter a severe. AIFF President Chaubey on March 6 issued a formal notice to the organization’s former chief legal advisor Bhattacharjee for accusing him of corruption.
Bhattacharjee, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleged that Chaubey participated in non-transparent tender processes and tried to “siphon money from the federation” for personal expenses.
Taking cognizance of the matter, the AFC asked Bhattacharjee to submit a “full written report” by March 18.
“We refer to the attached press reports in which we note that you have made allegations of corruption against the President of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), Mr. Kalyan Chaubey.
“Given the seriousness of this matter, we ask that you please provide the AFC with a full written report setting out your position on the matter no later than March 18, 2024,” said Barry, deputy secretary of the disciplinary committee. and ethics of the AFC. Lysaght, wrote in a letter to Bhattacharjee on Tuesday.
“This report must include (but is not limited to) details of the allegations, any evidence to support those allegations, any steps taken by you to respond to the allegations to the AIFF (or any other body/person ) and any other relevant information or documentation relating to this matter.
Chaubey called the allegations “baseless”, accusing Bhattacharjee of trying to damage his reputation.
Bhattacharjee stood firm on his stand and claimed that during his tenure, he had once refused to sign an “unbalanced” deal with Indigo airline where “a minimum guarantee of Rs seven crore” had to be given for content creation rights versus “no”. encouragement to Indian football”.
But Chaubey refuted point by point the allegations made by Bhattacharjee, who said he would submit all his evidence to the AFC before the deadline.
“I am happy because at least the AFC has chosen to take note of my allegations while everyone within the AIFF, except for a very few people, has decided to remain silent. This can be the beginning,” Bhattacharjee told PTI.
“I will submit all evidence I have with me to the AFC within the deadline set by the AFC.
“Anyone who thinks about Indian football can join me and share whatever they have,” he added.
Former Indian captain Bhaichung Bhutia also got involved in the controversy and called for Chaubey’s resignation.
“There have been a lot of negative stories regarding the AIFF administration. But with the AFC taking note of the corruption allegations against Kalyan and perhaps the AFC looking to initiate an investigation, this could seriously damage the reputation of Indian football,” he explained.
“For some time now, there has been chaos in the administration of Indian football. The controversial dismissal of the general secretary and legal head making serious allegations of corruption against Kalyan and later his dismissal…
“…nothing is going well in the AIFF administration. Kalyan should resign and take responsibility for all this and fresh elections should be held to clean up Indian football,” he said.
