In the row of sexual harassment allegations on the BCCI’s Chief Executive Officer Rahul Johri, the former Indian women’s skipper and a Committee of Administrators (CoA) member Diana Edulji has asked Johri to resign from his post.
At first, Johri has been accused through an anonymous post for misbehaving and sexual assault to a woman during their working days with a satellite channel.
While Johri is currently on a leave to prepare his response on the sexual harassment allegation after denying that incident, CoA chief Vinod Rai has recently decided to form a three-member independent panel to investigate on this matter.
Now, another fresh sexual harassment allegation has surfaced on Johri and this time the former Mumbai captain Shishir Hattangadi revealed it. He recently told CNN-News18 that one of his female friends has complained about Johri’s behaviour and he advised her to speak to the CoA members along with a letter.
In this warm condition, another member of two-member CoA, Diana Edulji has asked Johri to resign from his post.
Edulji told The Indian Express, “As a woman in the CoA, it was my moral duty to ask for the resignation because my women’s team is there, my women support staff is there, and there are women staff working in BCCI. He (Johri) will roam around freely in the office. What message are we sending to these girls? How can I sit in the meeting with him? I can’t look in his eyes. You can’t say now he can’t sit in the meeting, then how will CoA work? After all, our main goal is to implement the Lodha recommendations.”
She further added that BCCI’s reputation is the first priority and it shouldn’t be affected in any way.
Edulji added, “Nobody is larger than the organisation. BCCI interest is first. BCCI image should not be affected; nobody should take away that.”
Edulji also shared some of her embracement experiences after these allegations on Johri. She again repeated that if Johri continues his post in the present situation, it would put a negative image on the BCCI and Indian cricket.
Edulji said, “I went to a doctor the other day and he asked me ‘kya, tumhara CEO girls ko harass kar raha hai aur tum kya kar rahe ho?’ (your CEO is harassing girls and what are you doing about it?) The other day, I went to the CCI (Cricket Club of India). There were parents and women members asking me about it. I can’t face all this. My heart felt something wrong going on and I just stood by it. Tomorrow, the man (Johri) will sit beside women cricketers and Virat Kohli in a press conference – what sort of image that sends across? People will say we just didn’t do anything.”
Meanwhile, seven state associations – Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Gujarat, Saurashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka – have also requested BCCI to take action on Johri.
