In a shocker, Olympian and World Championsip bronze medal winner Anju Bobby George resigned from her post as president of the Kerala Sports Council in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday. The celebrated triple jumper decided to take this step after coming under repeated attacks from the new Kerala Sports Minister E.P. Jayarajan.
Speaking to the Sunday Guardian, Arjuna Awardee Anju said the minster had accused her of fostering corruption during her tenure. “He (Jayaragan) accused me of promoting corruption during my tenure. It’s then that I thought enough was enough and decided to step down,” she said.
Anju also clarified that she was hurt by the corruption charge. “I have represented my country at the highest level. I am a sportsperson and know very well the requirements of a sportsperson. When someone levels a charge of corruption, it really hurts and that is why I have decided to take this step,” she said.
Anju also said that she was appointed to head the council by the previous UDF government. “I was appointed by the former Kerala state government around six months ago and things started to go wrong when we decided to appoint an Ethics Commission which was given the mandate to probe corruption, nepotism, harassment over the entire gambit of the Council for the past decade,” Anju added.
Anju’s problems started this month after a rare showdown with Sports Minister Jayaragan. “It all started when I went to see him in his office. He told me that a lot of corruption had happened during my tenure something which really hurt me,” she said.
Anju said that since she happened to be a revenue official and one who has travelled widely, she was surprised to see the files lying in the Council, and the people of the state should know what is happening in the Council.
“Sports can be killed, but the morale of the sports personalities cannot be killed. The father figure of sports in Kerala is Colonel G.V. Raja and he had to leave the Council in tears. We do not see it any more apt to continue in this post and hence, the Council of 12 officials are also stepping down,” she said .