MUMBAI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had in December last year decided to donate Rs 2.25 crores for gym equipment for the Constitution Club of India (CCI), a club used by the present and past parliamentarians as a "platform for interaction."
As per the minutes of an Apex Council meeting that took place on December 21, 2022, Item No 9 mentions: "Mr Jay Shah (BCCI secretary) apprised the members that the Constitution Club Of India (CCI) have requested for funds from the BCCI for the procurement of gym equipment. Based on the negotiation on the cost and availability of the documents, a final quote was submitted to the BCCI, which provided a final cost of Rs 2.27 crores. In this regard, it is suggested that a lump sum of Rs 2.25 crores be donated to CCI directly towards the purchase of gym equipment."
The minutes of the meeting, put up on the BCCI website, go on to mention that, "The members took note of the update and approved the lump sum donation of Rs 2.25 crores to CCI directly towards purchase of gym equipment."
A note on CCI's website describes the club, located at the Vithal Bhai Patel House in Delhi, as "the Constitution Club of India was opened in February 1947 with the objectives & purposes of fostering social contacts and providing usual amenities of a club life for the benefit of the members of the Indian Constituent Assembly. AND WHEREAS the Constitution Club of India has effectively emerged as an enviable forum providing platform for interaction amongst the past & present members of Parliament."
Om Birla, the speaker of the Lok Sabha, is the president of the club, Harivansh Singh is the general secretary, while Hardeep Singh Puri, Union minister of Urban Development, is the vice-president. BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla, who is a Rajya Sabha MP from the Congress party, is the sports secretary of the club.
