The Goan Network
Panaji
Life Members, former cricketers and club representatives of the Goa Cricket Association, who had forwarded a joint memorandum to Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar last week, on Wednesday threatened to stall a hurriedly-called Special Annual General Meeting (AGM) by the GCA on June 12.
Addressing the media here, Vilas Dessai, former treasurer of the GCA who led the delegation to the chief minister last week, said that the present GCA panel headed by Chetan Desai has "no constitutional rights" to convene a Special AGM without holding a managing committee meeting in the first place to seek the opinion of the members.
"With an FIR already being registered by the Economic Offences Cell of Goa Police against Chetan Desai (president), Vinod Phadke (secretary) and Akbar Mulla (treasurer) for misappropriation in excess of Rs 3 crore, there is no way that office-bearers charged with criminal conspiracy can go ahead and conduct a special AGM," exclaimed Dessai voicing his opinion and stating that the agenda of the Special AGM is clearly against the principle of democracy.
Asked what's the agenda of the special AGM, Dessai added: "The plans are clear, the present committee is interested in deliberating on misappropriations by the 'earlier committee'. So what's the identity of the so called earlier committee?", queried Dessai, stating that it was a clear move to hush-up the matter during the special AGM.
"The GCA has also maintained that all life members will only be allowed to attend the special AGM with prior permission. And, at such a short notice, those life members who have been settled out of Goa it will not be feasible for them to attend which is depriving them of their fundamental rights," Dessai added.
Memorandum sent to BCCI
"We have also forwarded all details of misappropriation by Chetan Desai, Vinod Phade and Akbar Mulla, including the documents of FIR to BCCI president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke seeking their intervention by taking the GCA to task for all its corrupt practices. And, the good news is BCCI has responded and has asked the GCA to give detailed account of all finacial transactions explaining how and where all the BCCI grants were spent," Dessai disclosed hoping that BCCI pressure will throw more light on the financial misappropriations.
"We are waiting to see how the GCA will now react to the BCCI directive," Dessai stated adding that it is a vindication of his fight for justice. He also added that a fresh fraud has surfaced and a huge some of Rs 5.14 cr which was received by GCA in 2008 has gone unaccounted. "The bank manager of DCB bank where the BCCI grants were deposited by GCA officials is also under the scanner and may face an arrest soon," claimed Dessai.
