New Delhi: The Boxing Federation of India’s (BFI) affiliaited units and executive committee (ExCo) members sat in one room in New Delhi to showcase their unity and strength against current president Ajay Singh. With 27 out of 35 units and 8 of 13 ExCo members against him, it was scheduled to be a day of Special General Meeting (SGM) and vote of no-confidence. Instead, those plans were shelved by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which put the SGM in abeyance until November 13.That, however, didn’t dissuade the hierarchy from coming together and expressing their displeasure with the three-time BFI president and his tenure. Representatives of the opposing faction met Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Sports Raksha Khadse and Indian Olympic Association (IOA) top brass.On Wednesday, BFI Secretary General Pramod Kumar, treasurer Pon Baskaran, Vice President Rajesh Bhandari, VP of Delhi Amateur Boxing Association Rohit Jain and more stressed that they had submitted a memorandum to the Sports Ministry and IOA alleging administrative lapses, constitutional disregard and a “Hitler-ish approach.”“We have given our memorandum to them (Sports Ministry). Whatever issued we have, whether it is related to the constitution or technical conduct, whether it is related to coaching or selection committee, and about the administration, we have told him everything. Now, it is his decision. And we have also written to the global body. Unfortunately the meeting we wanted to hold today wasn’t possible, but let’s see what changes from here,” said Bhandari.“Every time an official within the Boxing Federation has questioned Ajay Singh’s authority, they have either been suspended or served with a show-cause notice. If we do not get any respite from this situation, it is possible that we will sit at Jantar Mantar in the coming days,” said BFI Senior VP Rajesh Bhandari.Rohit Jain, who has challenged Singh’s presidency in the past and vows to do so again, claimed the biggest issue is the constitutional overreach.
Left to right: BFI Vice President Rajesh Bhandari, Secretary General Pramod Kumar and VP of Delhi Amateur Boxing Association Rohit Jain. (Photo by special arrangement)
“This battle started in 2024. They modified the constitution as such that it suits them. They rested all the powers at the seat of the president. They suspend any state unit without giving a notice, without assigning any reasons. Have you ever heard that someone will be suspended without giving a reason and an ad-hoc committee be formed? The main reason for this, I have to say, is that I have experienced the pain. They wanted to keep me away from boxing and competition so that I could not win the elections and could not stand in front of them. They changed the constitution not once, but twice,” he said.The latest developments come as the administrative chaos in the BFI continues for a third year running. The current logjam was heightened after Ajay Singh suspended Pramod Kumar, who had challenged the president’s authority. Singh has argued that his removal will require support from three-fourths of the General Body members. But for that, SGM needs to be called as per the constitutional norms.