THE Indian cabinet of ministers has asked for changes to a bill aimed at regulating national sports federations, possibly including the BCCI. The bill was discussed at a cabinet meeting yesterday but failed to gain approval; it will now be re-worked and presented afresh. The bill has become the subject of some controversy on several grounds, including its potential to regulate the BCCI – so far operating totally independent of the government.
What has also stirred debate is the fact that several senior cabinet ministers are heads of national sports organisations, leading to a possible conflict of interest.
Four ministers present at yesterday’s meeting were heads of cricket federations: Sharad Pawar (former BCCI head and current president of the ICC), Farooq Abdullah (Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association), Vilasrao Deshmukh (Mumbai Cricket Association) and CP Joshi (Rajasthan Cricket Association).
The Hindu newspaper reported that the meeting, presided over by prime minister Manmohan Singh, had heated exchanges and sharp divisions with the ministers objecting to approving the Bill at the nascent stage itself.
Singh, the paper reported, called it “good legislation” and was backed by the home minister P Chidambaram, who supported the move by the sports ministry to bring about accountability and transparency in sports administration.
However, others present pointed out problems in the bill; the finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee, is reported to have said that Parliament would never approve this bill in the present form or scenario.
Among the provisions objected to in the National Sports (Development) Bill was the age bar, which sought to set a 70-year limit for heads of national federations.
Pawar, a former BCCI president, is reported to have said that age should not be any factor in deciding who should head sports bodies, pointing out that the cabinet meeting itself included some members over the age of 70.
The bill had sought to bring in revolutionary changes in the functioning of sports bodies in the country, including the age limit and tenure restrictions besides bringing these bodies under the transparency-enabling Right to Information Act. (ESPN Cricinfo)