The All India Tennis Association (AITA) long-serving president Anil Khanna is heading for a certain confrontation with the sports ministry on the issue of following National Sports Development Code (NSDC).
The All India Tennis Association (AITA) long-serving president Anil Khanna is heading for a certain confrontation with the sports ministry on the issue of following National Sports Development Code (NSDC).
In a firm directive to the AITA president, who has been ruling tennis federation of the last 20 years, sports minister Sarbananda Sonowal sent a stern warning to AITA to "either follow the NSDC or face derecognition".
"Whatever guidelines of the sports code are circulated among the National Sports Federations (NSFs), they have to adhere to it. The NSFs have already expressed their views clearly that they are going to implement it in their functioning, including the AITA," Sonowal told dna in response to a question whether Khanna's election in June 2012, when he took over as the AITA's president after having served as secretary in the previous three terms, was against the tenure guidelines of the sports code.
Khanna held the post of secretary general in the AITA between 2000 and 2012 before being elected president for four years (2012-16 term). This was a clear violation of sports code flouting tenure guidelines. The code clearly mentions a cooling-off period of four years before a secretary seeks re-election after two successive terms as president.
In Khanna's case, it was three successive terms, after which he was unanimously elected president of the AITA at its AGM in October last in Bangalore.
"If we have brought the sports code, it's because we want to make the day-to-day functioning of the NSFs more transparent and accountable. It's not the question of an individual, it's about the sports code to be honoured by the NSFs in letter and spirit," added Sonowal.
It must be mentioned here that the ministry, in a recent communication, asked Khanna to step down since he was required to serve a four-year cooling off period. This was the main reason why the ministry had granted AITA only provisional recognition till March 31, 2015.
Now, it's up to the AITA to decide whether it wants to adhere to the norms or face derecognition if Khanna fails to step down by month-end. However, a defiant AITA has threatened to take the legal recourse against the ministry's directive.
'BCCI open to public scrutiny'
On another key issue of bringing the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) under the ambit of the RTI Act, Sonowal minced no words by stating that the BCCI is a public body and that its actions are open to judicial review.
"BCCI is a public body as observed by the honourable Supreme Court recently, reading out judgment in the IPL spot-fixing case. So definitely it is accountable to the people of the country. The ministry is also of the same view," he said.
Sonowal informed that the revised draft of the National Sports Development Bill (NSDB) will be tabled in the Sports Ministers' Conference in the Capital on March 20 and 21 to examine the comments and suggestions received from various quarters.
"BCCI does discharge several public functions which make it amenable to the writ jurisdiction of the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India," SC said in the judgment.
){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}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}