3 min readMumbaiMar 29, 2013 01:45 AM IST
First published on: Mar 29, 2013 at 01:45 AM IST
A rift between the acting president of the suspended Indian Olympic Association IOA,Vijay Kumar Malhotra,and the sports ministry over the implementation of revised sports bill threatens to further extend the countrys ban from the International Olympic Committee IOC.
There were hopes that the ban imposed by the IOC on India last December would soon be lifted after the world body invited a delegation comprising sports minister Jitendra Singh,Malhotra and secretary general of the suspended IOA,Randhir Singh,to Lausanne to resolve the impasse. After a slight delay initially,the ministry had proposed April 15-16 as the dates for the all-important meeting with IOC president Jacques Rogge. It also sent a communiqué to Malhotra for his approval before finalising the final itinerary for the trip.
However,Malhotra has refused to meet the IOC on the said dates,citing the governments 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.
Theres no point of meeting the IOC until the government softens its stand on this issue. The IOCs 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. Theres a conflict in what is being said and done on the ministrys 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 havent received any official communication from him on this matter so well 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.
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