War of words erupts between IOA president and secretary general, this time on use of official email

Indian Olympic Association president Narinder Batra and secretary general Rajeev Mehta over the use of the organisation's official email ID and website, adding to their long-standing feud over several other issues. Batra issued a statement earlier in the day that he has got approval from the majority of the 31 executive council (EC) members to change the official email ID and website of the IOA. "The official email ID of IOA effective immediately will only be ioa2022official@gmail.com and the earlier official email of IOA, i.e.

ioa@olympic.ind.in becomes invalid with immediate effect," Batra said in the statement. "All mails sent by the secretary general IOA after he changed the password and refused to share the same with the IOA office staff who operated the emails...will be treated as invalid and will have no legal sanctity. "...a new website (will be) created for IOA on priority and that will be the only official website of IOA.

The present website of IOA www.olympic.ind.in becomes invalid effective immediately," Batra added. He said he has got approvals from 18 out of 31 EC members and so the "resolution by circulation" has become "effective immediately". Within hours, Mehta hit back saying that the resolution was "unlawful" as the term of the EC "has already expired on December 14, 2021".

He went to the extent of saying that Batra's act "amounts to commission of offence punishable under Information and Technology Act, 2000 and Indian Penal Code". "...your plan/proposal...all smack of foul play in hijacking the whole system to manipulate the data/information for your own benefits ahead of elections of IOA... the same is unlawful and how any such resolution could be proposed and passed by EC when term of the EC has