Sports Bill likely to end disputes in federations, says Mandaviya
Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya is confident of ending all infighting within the sports federations, including the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) in the next six months. He reckons once the National Sports Bill comes into existence a majority of disputes within sports bodies will come to end.
Speaking to the reporters during an interaction with the reporters, Madaviya said disputes in the federations ultimately hurt the progression of the athletes. Mandaviya since taking over the sports ministry has seen several bickering in sports bodies, none bigger than in IOA where the entire executive committee has been opposing IOA president PT Usha over the appointment of new CEO Raghuram Iyer.
Recently, the Indian Golf Union too got caught up in a factional fight, where two sets of Returning Officers have been appointed by warring factions for the elections that are to be held later this week.
Also, the continued confusion regarding the recognition of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) elections, had forced the minister to intervene after WFI withdrew the team for the World Championships fearing a contempt of court proceedings. Mandaviya asked the WFI to send the team after wrestlers sat outside the minister’s house for six hours.
“You try to solve one dispute and all of a sudden you get to know two other federations are in dispute. It is not good for anyone, especially the athletes. Our primary job is to help the athletes to excel. If we are busy fighting amongst each other, how will that happen?” The Minister said on Wednesday.
“This is where the sports bill comes in. Once that comes into play a lot of such disputes will be taken care of,” he added.
Originally slated to be introduced during the Winter Session of the Parliament, it has been delayed a bit after objections were raised regarding a few provisions including establishment of the Sports Regulatory Board of India, which would grant recognition to the NSFs and ensure compliance. It also seeks setting up an Appellate Sports Tribunal to handle all sports-related disputes and reducing reliance on civil courts for faster resolution.
The Minister further informed that there will be few changes made to the bill before introducing it in the Parliament. “There will be no major changes as far as we are concerned. Of course, there have been reservations raised but we are confident of getting approval from all stakeholders before going forward. But I will assure you that we are making good progress,” he explained.
