In an open letter by athlete Anju Bobby George to Kerala Sports Minister EP Jayarajan, she has declared that she would give back the amount given by the state government as travel allowance for flying between Bengaluru and Thiruvananthapuram.
The letter comes in the wake of a controversy after Anju, also the President of the Kerala Sports Council alleged that EP Jayarajan had threatened and abused her. Anju had alleged that the Minister had called her and other members of the Council corrupt and questioned her travelling expenses in their very first meeting.
Though the minister denied all allegations, the showdown has been hugely debated with some reports questioning Anju's absence in Kerala.
“An Olympian like me who has been helping upcoming sports persons of Kerala is now facing the heat of allegations for receiving Rs 40000 in last 6 months from the government as travel allowance. There are government orders sanctioning the amount to me. I am not willing to harm my reputation for Rs 40,000," she writes.
Announcing that she would be remitting the amount back, Anju added that “sports council president is a post without any salary.”
She wrote, “A person who stood on the victory podium looking at the tri-colour with tearful eyes can ever sell sports for money."
In the letter she also points out that someone may have misled the minister by telling him that most of the corruption happened after she took charge as Sports Council President seven months ago.
“Sir, corruption in the council should be enquired upon, but that probe should not be limited to the last six months. There should be an enquiry into the council’s activities for last 10 or more years. Proper punishment should also be ensured. For any such action against corruption, I extend my full support,” she wrote.
In the letter she agrees that council had earlier indulged in corruption and cited few instances.
Anju listed out these instances:
1. "Construction of Munnar High altitude training centre was ridden with corruption. The six year old building has a huge leakage and the tracks are concrete like canal bunds. Whoever developed this idea was corrupt for sure."
2. "Rs 24 crore had been collected through selling the lotteries in 2006, of which Rs 22 crore had been spent. The remaining Rs 2 crore has not yet reached the council. These lotteries also carried my photograph."
3. "Indoor stadiums have been converted to marriage halls. Lost almost Rs 25 lakhs in construction of swimming pools and Maharajas college’s tracks."
The star athlete claimed that she had tried to make some changes in the system.
“To sort out the malpractices inside the council we formed an ethics committee and I had brought a draft along with me when we came to meet you. Since you were angry, the draft became irrelevant,” she adds in the letter.
She has also answered criticisms over what did she had done develop the council and sports in Kerala.
"The Council allotted air tickets, upper class train tickets, Abdul Kalam Scholarship, Elite training schemes and quality training kits for the best students. Student hostels were renovated and refresher courses were arranged for trainers. These are few schemes that I started in a short period of time,” she wrote.
Another major criticism Anju faced was that she illegally appointed her brother in the council. In the letter she urges for a vigilance probe in to all the appointments of the council including her brother’s.
“I also suggest that Kerala Public Service Commission should take care of sports council’s appointments,” she wrote.