Ministry,IOA at loggerheads as revised sports bill reopens old wounds

However,Malhotra has refused to meet the IOC on the said dates,citing the government’s ‘rigid’ stand on the sports bill as the reason. Malhotra believes the meeting with IOC will serve no purpose as the sports ministry continues to be persistent on implementing the sports bill.

“There’s no point of meeting the IOC until the government softens its stand on this issue. The IOC’s letter,in which they invited us,clearly mentioned they want us to follow our constitution and not the sports code. The ministry last week formed a committee to redraft the sports bill,which directly interferes with the working of the sports federations. There’s a conflict in what is being said and done on the ministry’s part,” Malhotra said.

Malhotra added he will meet the ministry officials to arrive at a solution in the first or second week of April and will decide whether to attend the Lausanne meeting only after that.

‘Surprised’

The ministry,meanwhile,was surprised at the stand taken by Malhotra. An official said the new sports bill does not threaten the autonomy of the National Sports Federations and added that Malhotra,who is the president of the Archery Association of India,is the only member objecting it. “However,we haven’t received any official communication from him on this matter so we’ll not comment further. As of now,the meeting will take place on April 15 and 16,pending confirmation from the IOC,” the official said.

The ministry has the option to request the IOC to go ahead with the meeting without Malhotra. It is learnt they are willing to explore that option in the worst case scenario but “it was too soon to take any such steps.”