Thiruvananthapuram: Close on the heels of finding himself the butt of jokes following his assertion that legendary boxer Muhammad Ali hailed from God’s own country, Kerala Sports Minister E P Jayarajan has now waded into another controversy and this time around, it’s not funny.
Olympian athlete Anju Bobby George has alleged that the minister threatened her and insulted her by levelling charges of corruption against her and other members of the state’s sports council.
Arjuna awardee Anju Bobby George, who is also the President of Kerala Sports Council, has submitted a complaint to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan alleging that Jayarajan had harassed her and other members of the council, The News Minute reported.
George alleges that the minister had threatened her and other members of the Council when it had assembled for the first meeting with him and even referred to them as the favourites of the previous establishment.
Anju was appointed as the Council President by the previous UDF government.
The athlete, who made history after she won a medal in the World Championships in Athletics in 2003, said she had gone to meet the Sports Minister along with the Council Vice President on June 7 after the new government came to power.
"We thought he will ask us about the status of sports in Kerala. In the first meeting itself, the minister said 'you all are elected members by the previous ministry. So you all are other party members... All transfers and appointments you are doing are illegal'," Anju said, quoting the minister.
The athlete said the minister also objected to the flight tickets availed by her from Bengaluru, where she is based, to Thiruvananthapuram for attending the Council meetings.
She said the minister had told her, "This is all against rules. I can stop all this."
The veteran long jumper said she had given a representation to the previous government for permitting her to avail airfare and the same had been accepted.
"The minister said 'this is all corruption'," Anju said.
Anju said that besides her, Preeja Sreedharan, Indian Hockey captain P R Sreejesh and Kerala Cricket Association President, T C Mathew, are other members of the Council.
"The minister said that all of us are involved in corruption. We are not acting for any political party. Sports is our party. I am not a member of Congress, Communist or BJP. We are doing our duty. If the government is not ready to accept that, they can ask us to leave. But instead, calling all of us as corrupt was not acceptable," she said.
Asked if she planned to quit her post, Anju said she had not taken a decision yet.
"We are sportspersons. I have a duty to inform the Chief Minister about the minister's behaviour," she said.
Jayarajan, however, denied the charge and said Anju had parted "very happily" after meeting him.
Asked about her charge, the state Sports Minister said he had not behaved rudely.
"No, never," he told reporters. He said he was not aware that the athlete had complained to the Chief Minister.
"We thought he will ask us about the status of sports in Kerala. In the first meeting itself, the minister said 'you all are elected members by the previous ministry. So you all are other party members... All transfers and appointments you are doing are illegal'," Anju said quoting the minister.
Sports Minister E P Jayarajan had embarrassed himself on Saturday when he described legendary boxing champion Mohammed Ali as a sportsman from Kerala during his obituary reference.
"I just heard that Muhammad Ali breathed his last in America. He was a great sportsperson from Kerala. He flagged the fame of Kerala sky-high by winning a gold medal," he told a Malayalam TV news channel.
(With inputs from PTI)
