Till now, the tug-of-war between the Samajwadi Party and the Congress may have been limited to political games. But now the fight is spilling over to the field of sports.
UP loses National Games due to an arbitrary act, says Suresh Kalmadi.
LUCKNOW: Till now, the tug-of-war between the Samajwadi Party and the Congress may have been limited to political games. But now the fight is spilling over to the field of sports.
Uttar Pradesh has lost the opportunity to host the 2009 National Games ostensibly because of an allegedly "draconian" Sports Act. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA), headed by senior Congress leader and MP Suresh Kalmadi, has taken the view that the Act threatens the autonomy of the UP Olympic Association (UPOA) and its affiliate sports bodies.
However, UP sports minister RK Chaudhry told DNA that the reason for the drastic posturing was "petty politics rather than a genuine concern for sports."
The unkindest cut, especially a personal one for the UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, is that the national junior boys' hockey championship scheduled to be held in his home village Sefai in Etawah district from August 5 has also been cancelled by the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) apparently for the same reason.
"We have been asking the UP government to do away with the Sports Act since last year but it has turned a deaf ear to the demand," UPOA president Mohd. Aslam Khan told DNA. He said the IOA would not organise any tournaments in UP till the Act is repealed. Besides, other sports bodies like the IHF had also been asked to do the same, he said. "It's indeed a disgrace for UP... for the first time since Independence we had managed to get the national games for UP," Aslam said.
Chaudhry retorts: "These sports associations have been squandering government funds for years… in the name of autonomy they are trying to hide the skeletons in their cupboards." He told DNA: "There are very little sportsmen and too many 'netas' and industrialists running these sports associations, and we are not going to withdraw or amend the Act to please these associations, come what may."
The UP Sports (Registration, Recognition and Regulation of Associations) Act - 2005 was passed by the Mulayam government to promote sports with the help of the UPOA and its 35 affiliated associations, each entrusted with organising events related to a particular game or sport.
The idea was very much in consonance with the spirit of the International Olympic Charter which emphasises the need to promote sports with government support.
However, Sports Department officials say that the two main thorns in the side for the UPOA are the Sports Act clauses relating to accountability and elections.
The Act gives the state government complete authority to call for the Association's accounts at any time, and to appoint an observer to oversee UPOA elections.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}