New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) Sports Minister Ajay Maken Wednesday criticised the Indian cricket board for refusing to come under the Right to Information (RTI) Act and said the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) enjoys several exemptions at the expense of tax payers’ money.
‘What do they mean by they don’t get government funds so shouldn’t come under RTI? They are indirectly getting government funds. How about the tax exemptions? How about the land they get? How much did they pay for the Ferozeshah Kotla?’ said Maken, a day after the union cabinet rejected the National Sport Development Bill.
‘BCCI does not have to pay entertainment tax; they don’t pay for the security provided during the matches by the government. Even the lands for the stadiums they use are generally given to them free of cost. So people have the right to know what is happening in the BCCI. People should know certain things because, at the end of the day, their team represents the country,’ said the minister.
‘Let them spell out three or four clauses which they are not happy with. I would drop them. But their financial dealings must come under RTI Act,’ the minister said.
Maken said the sports ministry was not asking National Sports Federations (NSF), including the BCCI, to reveal anything to the government, rather he wanted them to be accountable to the people.
‘We are not saying that they should be accountable to the government, but they must be accountable to the people of the nation because they enjoy certain benefits at the expense of the tax payers’ money,’ said the sports minister.
‘We are not trying to control any federations. All we want is for them to be transparent and efficient. We want them to come under the RTI and to have age restrictions,’ he said.
On the age limit of 70 set in the bill for NSF office-bearers, Maken said: ‘What is their problem with age limit? Doesn’t the judiciary, the bureacracy have age limits? Why can’t a good example be followed? If someone remains a federation chief for ever, why will vested interests not develop? Seventy is a ripe age and they should realize that they have been around for a long time and now they should make way for younger people to lead the sports bodies.’
The bill was discussed in the union cabinet Tuesday. According to reports, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P.Chidambaram supported the bill but Sharad Pawar, who is the president of the International Cricket Council (ICC), Kapil Sibal, Praful Patel, who also heads the All India Football Federation (AIFF), Kamal Nath and Farooq Abdullah were opposed to it.
Pawar, who is also a former BCCI president, threatened to take up the issue with UPA chairman Sonia Gandhi.
The cabinet decided not to table the National Sports Development bill in this session of parliament and asked Maken to rework the draft legislation.
Maken, however, hoped that the bill would be passed in the next session of parliament.
‘We are waiting for the minutes of the cabinet meeting. Once we get that, we will start reworking the National Sports Development Bill and place it before the cabinet again,’ Maken said.
‘We will consult the ministers to know their specific objections and address those as much as possible in the bill. Hopefully, we will be able to get the cabinet’s clearance next time around,’ he said.
Maken stressed that the bill was a must for the nation.
‘I am on the job. We need to have Sports Bill. Had the bill been in its place before the Commonwealth Games, we wouldn’t have had so many scams during the CWG,’ Maken said.
