No conflict of interest if Supreme Court appoints me as BCCI observer: GK Pillai
The cricketing world will have its eyes pinned on the proceedings at the Supreme Court on Friday . Would the bench headed by CJI TS Thakur accept Justice RM Lodha Committee’s suggestion to appoint former home secretary, GK Pillai, as the observer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), clipping the wings of Anurag Thakur and other Board officials?
GK Pillai’s role, according to the Lodha Committee, would be to “guide” the BCCI in administrative work, which include awarding contracts and bringing in transparency.
Pillai is currently on the board of directors of several top corporate houses in India. So, there are concerns that his appointment could be in conflict with BCCI’s future commercial deals as some of those companies have shown commercial interest in the Indian cricket Board in the past.
Several contracts are up for renewal in the BCCI in the near future, with the biggest being the Indian Premier League (IPL) media rights.
The 67-year-old Pillai does not think he needs to relinquish his current positions from the corporate houses if the Supreme Court appoints him as the BCCI observer.
“At the moment, I don’t think so,” was Pillai’s response when asked if his position in the BCCI could be in conflict of interest. “I am not involved with what they decide and how they decide. I won’t be part of the decisions they take. I will not be involved in day-to-day administration (of the BCCI). I will only lay down the transparent guidelines for the BCCI. (It will be about) how they should do and I would just monitor whether they are complying with that (the guidelines),” added Pillai.
The Lodha Committee, in its third status report, had stated that, “While the day-to-day administration of BCCI is presently carried out by the CEO and certain managers who assist him in this regard, there would be a need to appoint an observer who would guide the BCCI in its administration, particularly with reference to the award of contracts, transparency norms, audit, etc, for domestic, international and IPL cricket to be played hereafter.”
The cricketing world will have its eyes pinned on the proceedings at the Supreme Court on Friday . Would the bench headed by CJI TS Thakur accept Justice RM Lodha Committee’s suggestion to appoint former home secretary, GK Pillai, as the observer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), clipping the wings of Anurag Thakur and other Board officials?
GK Pillai’s role, according to the Lodha Committee, would be to “guide” the BCCI in administrative work, which include awarding contracts and bringing in transparency.
Pillai is currently on the board of directors of several top corporate houses in India. So, there are concerns that his appointment could be in conflict with BCCI’s future commercial deals as some of those companies have shown commercial interest in the Indian cricket Board in the past.
Several contracts are up for renewal in the BCCI in the near future, with the biggest being the Indian Premier League (IPL) media rights.
The 67-year-old Pillai does not think he needs to relinquish his current positions from the corporate houses if the Supreme Court appoints him as the BCCI observer.
“At the moment, I don’t think so,” was Pillai’s response when asked if his position in the BCCI could be in conflict of interest. “I am not involved with what they decide and how they decide. I won’t be part of the decisions they take. I will not be involved in day-to-day administration (of the BCCI). I will only lay down the transparent guidelines for the BCCI. (It will be about) how they should do and I would just monitor whether they are complying with that (the guidelines),” added Pillai.
The Lodha Committee, in its third status report, had stated that, “While the day-to-day administration of BCCI is presently carried out by the CEO and certain managers who assist him in this regard, there would be a need to appoint an observer who would guide the BCCI in its administration, particularly with reference to the award of contracts, transparency norms, audit, etc, for domestic, international and IPL cricket to be played hereafter.”
Courtesy: Hindustan Times
