Board had chance to contest our recommendations: Lodha

The BCCI got full opportunity to argue against the recommendations made by the Supreme Court appointed Lodha committee, said the panel chief R.M. Lodha after seeking removal of the Board’s top brass in a status report to the apex court.

The BCCI had filed a review petition challenging the sweeping reforms proposed by the Lodha panel, also seeking recusal of the Chief Justice of India from the five-judge bench which will review the Supreme Court verdict.

“Every recommendation which was not acceptable to the BCCI was opposed and they had full opportunity to argue. After hearing them, the Supreme Court has accepted nobody undermines their capacity, capability, we all bow to the Supreme Court,” said Lodha.

Asked if he is open to a dialogue with the BCCI to further discuss the recommendations, Lodha said: “We are no party to the litigation, there is no question of the dialogue. We are simply to implement the Supreme Court’s judgement now.

“We held a meeting on August 9 (with the BCCI officials) and three weeks before that meeting, intimation was sent to Mr Anurag Thakur and Mr Ajay Shirke. We wanted to discuss. We invited them on our own, we sent communication to them. One of them came (Shirke), the other (Thakur) didn’t,” he said.

Lodha said the panel has not specifically asked for the removal of Thakur and Shirke but the entire set of office-bearers.

“We are not concerned with names, we are only concerned with whether existing office-bearers be superseded and panel of arbitrators be put in their place. The persons who are in-charge of the affairs in the BCCI should be superseded.”

It remains to be seen what the BCCI does at its SGM on September 30, the day it faces a first set of the deadlines set by the Lodha panel. It submitted a status report after observing violation of SC directives in the AGM held earlier in the month.