State associations propose no-confidence motion against India tennis body President Anil Jain

Kanpur: In an unprecedented move, eight state tennis associations, affiliated with AITA, have proposed to move a no confidence motion against President Anil Jain and an Extra Ordinary General Meeting (EGM) has been called on September 28 in New Delhi for the purpose.

Interestingly, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) has called the EGM on the day it is scheduled to hold its Annual General Meeting (AGM) and conduct elections, the result of which can't be declared and are to be submitted to the Delhi High Court in a sealed envelop.

Jain, who is a BJP Rajya Sabha MP, is facing the charges of "loading the association with his personal 'entitled' expenses by travelling with his family abroad several times." The state units that proposed the no-confidence motion are: Assam, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Tripura.

If the no confidence motion is passed, Jain will cease to be AITA President. Never in the history of Indian tennis has the head of the federation been removed in this fashion.

Jain was elected the AITA President unopposed in September 2020, replacing Praveen Mahajan. He served as AITA Vice President before that from 2016-2020.

When contacted by PTI, Jain said the state units have opened the front against him because he advised them to follow Sports Code during the upcoming elections.

"This EGM is illegal. A three-week notice is required to call any meeting. This meeting is null and void. I will take legal action. Clause 15 of AITA constitution explains the process to call meetings. You can't send a notice on 23rd of a month and call a meeting on the 28th.

"Is this their way to penalise me for saying that they must follow Sports Code? All of them will be disqualified because this Electoral College is wrong. If I have done anything wrong, I will go," Jain said.

However, an official from the state associations said there are more allegations against Jain and it's not an issue of following the Sports Code.

"Who says we are not following Sports Code? We are Code-compliant. We will never go against the law of the land. This is not about Sports Code. If this was the issue, why he did not say anything when the EC meeting was held last month and AGM and elections were announced.

"This is the time to clean the system, this is the time to support the players and change the face of Indian tennis. We are united in this. We have a capable team to do it. You will see Indian tennis changing after these elections," he said.

One of state associations accused Jain of using his position in AITA for personal gains.

"Setting aside all the principles of good governance, he has used the AITA Trust for his personal hidden agenda by becoming a permanent trustee in his individual capacity instead of being in ex-officio capacity," a state association wrote to AITA on September 21.

"All the members of AITA, have so far remained silent with a view to maintain dignity and cohesiveness within the fraternity of AITA."