In a sudden turn of events, the Supreme Court on 2 January removed Anurag Thakur as the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The Supreme Court said that the BCCI and state board officials failed to implement its orders to bring transparency and accountability in cricket body. The top court further observed that Anurag Thakur had committed perjury.
Read More: Live updates: Supreme Court removes Anurag Thakur as BCCI President
Anurag Thakur was elected as BCCI president on May 22, 2016 and was sacked just months are his appointment. Here are few of the things you may need to about Thakur:
-He was the second youngest man to lead the BCCI board and is the son of the former Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Prem Kumar Dhumal.
-He has also been the president of BJP’s All India Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha.
Supreme Court removed Anurag Thakur from the post of BCCI president.
-Thakur is a familiar face in the Indian politics and is has been elected Member of Parliament of the Lok Sabha from the Hamirpur district of Himachal Pradesh thrice.
-According to several sports websites, Anurag Thakur has massive contribution in bringing up stadiums, playgrounds and several other sports facilities in the state of Himachal Pradesh. He had actively participated in developng the state’s largest stadium in Dharamshala.
-He is also the first BJP MP to have become a regular commissioned Officer in the Territorial army in July 2016.
-A complete sports enthusiast, Thakur has been a Ranji Trophy player and has served as the president of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association.
So, Why is the Supreme Court pissed with him?
– In the year 2015, the Supreme Court had directed the Lodha Committee to ensure smooth functioning of the BCCI. After which, the Lodha Committee came up with certain recommendations for the BCCI to implement.
Also Read: Justice Lodha terms expulsion of Anurag Thakur, Shirkey as ‘victory for cricket’
-The Supreme Court asked the BCCI to implement the reforms laid out by the Lodha Committee at the earliest. Mumbai Cricket Association President Sharad Pawar even stepped down to protest against the recommendation put forth by the Lodha Committee.
-Anurag Thakur responded saying the BCCI required some more time to go through the recommendations and implement it.
-Defying Lodha panel’s recommendation the BCCI constituted a five-member selection panel for the men’s, women’s and junior teams instead of a three-member panel as suggested by the Lodha Committee.
-Fuming with the non-implementation of the orders, the committee moved the Supreme Court who again directed Thakur to implement the reforms. BCCI, however, failed to meet the deadline given the apex court to implement the Lodha committee recommendations.
-The Supreme Court in return did something that was least expected, the Court stopped disbursing funds to the from BCCI accounts to state associations. The Court added that the BCCI will only enter into financial contract adhering to an amount imposed the Lodha Committee’s recommendations.
-The BCCI then filed a review petition after the Lodha Committee directed BCCI to remove some of the “inelligible” officials. The Supreme Court quashed the petition and again asked the board to implement the reforms.
-In what was a massive blow the Thakur, last month, the Court observed that Anurag Thakur may have committed perjury in order to and he might have to go to jail if the charges are proved. The court has also reserved the order on replacing BCCI top brass with a panel of administrators.
Read More: Anurag Thakur may face perjury charges for lying to Supreme Court, but what is perjury?
-After the BCCI failed to implement the reforms suggested by Lodha Committee, the Supreme Court sacked Anurag Thakur. The apex court has also removed Ajay Shirke from the post of BCCI Secretary.
The court has questioned why prosecution should not be initiated against Thakur. They have also sought a reply from him in this regard.
