Ivan Rodrigues, the father of Indian women’s cricketer Jemimah Rodrigues, issued a statement after her daughter’s membership at the Khar Gymkhana was cancelled due to him using the premises of the club for “religious activities.” After the decision from Khar Gymkhana was taken during their AGM this past Sunday, Ivan Rodrigues remarked that he had used the club premises for prayer meetings since April 2023, but it was done as per the rules.
As per the report from Indian Express, the members of the Khar Gymkhana had objected to Ivan Rodrigues using the club premises for “religious activities,” which they alleged to have been organised to convert the vulnerable people. It led to the Khar Gymkhana taking the decision to cancel the membership of her daughter Jemimah Rodrigues in their recent AGM.
These were in no way ‘conversion meetings’ as is wrongly labelled in articles in the media: Jemimah Rodrigues’ father Ivan
But, in a detailed statement posted by Ivan Rodrigues on his social media, he denied having used the Khar Gymkhana club’s premises for “conversion meetings,” while addressing the media’s reporting in this regard. He wrote, “In light of the recent and erroneous reports doing the rounds in the media, we would like to put on record a few facts. We had availed of the facilities at the Khar Gymkhana for the purpose of prayer meetings on multiple occasions, over a period of a year since April 2023.”
“However, this was done in complete accordance with the procedures that Khar Gymkhana have in place, and in full knowledge of the office bearers. The prayer meetings were open to all and were in no way ‘conversion meetings’ as is wrongly labelled in articles in the media,” remarked Ivan Rodrigues.
The father of Jemimah Rodrigues also felt that disheartened about the false claims and misinformation about his usage of the Khar Gymkhana’s club premises, and said, “When we were told to stop conducting the prayer meetings, we respected the stance of the Gymkhana and did so with immediate effect. When informed about the difference in rates for members and guests, we readily cleared the arrears. We are honest, law-abiding people who are grateful that we can practise our faith without it being a cause of inconvenience to anyone else. To then be the subject of false claims and misinformation is disheartening. We have and continue to wish only the best for everyone.”