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Hockey India defends itself from KPS Gill's conflict of interest charge

KPS Gill(L) and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley

After weeks full of allegations and corruption claims regarding Delhi and District Cricket Association(DDCA) and the alleged involvement of Union Finance minister Mr. Arun Jaitley, KPS Gill, former President of Indian Hockey Federation(IHF, now dissolved to form Hockey India) wrote a letter to the Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal.

In the letter, he alleged that the Union Finance Minister, “being the advisor of Hockey India League got his daughter appointed on the legal committee of Hockey India and she reportedly was paid huge sums.” 

Mr. Gill wrote, “What is urgently required to be probed is the conflict of interest that is being very much visible when you look at the list of office bearers and various committees of Hockey India and financial misappropriations of funds meant for hockey.”

However, Narinder Batra, President of Hockey India, dismissed the allegations, saying that Jaitley’s daughter was only one of many lawyers who represented Hockey India and was paid only about 2 percent of the legal fees. 

It is not the first time that some political members have complained about the irregularities in the DDCA. In 2012, BJP MP Kirti Azad wrote a letter to then-DDCA president Arun Jaitley complaining about the same issue, but in a detailed format.

“To stop this Frankenstein Monster that will finish hockey in the country”: KPS GILL

Batra said, “We had approximately 22 cases against us across India and a couple abroad as well. We had employed 25 law firms and hers was one of them. I can’t recall the exact figure we paid them, but it is not more than two percent of the total legal fees we have paid.”

Mr Gill’s allegations came after a day when the Delhi Government appointed one-man commission enquiry to look into the matters in DDCA. Gill added, “The time has come to act decisively and to take few steps to correct and to set the course for hockey on the right path and the urgency to rein in the Hockey India and to stop this Frankenstein Monster that will finish hockey in the country.”

Mr. Kejriwal also came out in support of Gill’s allegations and tweeted “There should no politicians in any sports body. Let sports be handled by professionals”. 

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