New Delhi, May 17 (Inditop.com) The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) is gearing up to oppose the sports ministry’s move to fix tenures and age-limit of office-bearers of national sports bodies.
On the eve of IOA’s Special General Assembly meeting here, the ministry sounded conciliatory in its letter to the apex body of Indian sports, asking the National Sports Federations (NSFs) to “take a view on basic universal principles of good governance of Olympic movement.”
The ministry reiterated that it took the decision to streamline the administration of sports bodies “keeping in view the principles endorsed by the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Congress in October 2009.”
The IOA, however, is in no mood to relent and Tuesday’s special general assembly which will follow the executive council meeting is likely to pass a unanimous resolution asking the government to reconsider its decision.
“The ball is in the ministry’s court,” a top IOA official told Inditop.
“We will go by the Olympic Charter and it is very clear in the matter. This is an encroachment on our autonomy and independent functioning. We are not going to yield and if the government does not back off the repercussions can be devastating as we can lose our rights to send teams for major international events. Does it want the fair name of Indian sport besmirched,” the official said.
The government in its rejoinder to the IOC had said that the world body itself had made changes in their rules with respect to tenure and limiting the age.
“It is strange that the government fails to understand a simple thing that it is IOC’s internal matter and they have clearly stated that these things cannot be forced on any National Olympic Committee (NOC) because it is against the very nature of Olympic Charter. These decisions are taken democratically within the institutions and not forced by any other body,” said another member of IOA.
The Ministry in its latest missive to IOA ahead of its meetings asked it “to deliberate and decide on the basic universal principles of good governance of the Olympic and sports movement in the interest of sports in the country.”
It has asked the members of the IOA executive council and the general assembly to carry out “thorough deliberations and take appropriate decisions, taking into account the Delhi High Court ruling, Parliament directions and the expectations of the general public of India.”
“The Government has asked the IOA and the NSFs to take note of the resolution passed by the XIII Olympic Congress, which underlines the essentiality of athletes’ involvement in decision making, with full voting rights; and establishment of grievance redressal mechanism for athletes.
These principles already form an integral part of the present government guidelines. But the majority of NSFs, including IOA, are yet to fully implement these basic principles of good governance, the letter says.”
rounak