AIFF chief addresses doubts: Responds to allegations by Nilanjan Bhattacharjee

New Delhi, March 6 (IANS) Finally breaking his silence over the various charges made against him in the recent past, All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Kalyan Chaubey sent a mail on Tuesday night to address the allegations primarily by former legal head Nilanjan Bhattacharjee and others. Chaubey stated, “Initially, I did not want to dignify them with a response and preferring instead to address any concerns directly during the upcoming AGM and clarify any doubts you might have.”

However, Chaubey expressed that the allegations against him have been politicized and widely spread with the intent to damage his reputation and destabilize the AIFF. Chaubey emphasized, “There is no doubt in my mind that this is a concerted and systematic effort to malign me before the AIFF AGM and also at the time when our country is gearing up for the Lok Sabha Election.”

Nilanjan Bhattacharjee had made serious “corruption allegations” against Chaubey which led to the former’s sacking from his post as AIFF’s legal head. Chaubey mentioned in the mail that he had sent a defamation notice to Bhattacharjee and “will be pursuing this matter to its logical conclusion” to protect his reputation and that of AIFF. Chaubey highlighted 11 different points on which allegations were made against him in the mail.