Kalmadi should have resigned from IOA presidency: Maken

Sports Minister Ajay Maken today said that sacked Commonwealth Games Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi, who was released from jail on bail yesterday, should have resigned from IOA presidency after he was charged for corruption in running the CWG.

"By not insisting to continue as the IOA president Kalmadi has done the right thing, but at the same time he has not resigned yet," Maken told reporters here. "So even though, while welcoming Kalmadi's stand that he is not insisting to remain as the IOA president, I think there should be a permanent mechanism in place. We should not leave it to the wisdom or will of accused himself (to continue in his post)," he said.

Kalmadi was yesterday granted bail by the Delhi High Court after spending nearly nine months at Tihar Jail here. Maken said that the CWG corruption scandal strengthened his case for passing the Sports Bill by the Parliament, which he said would bring transparency in the functioning of all national sports bodies.

"It strengthens our views on the Sports Bill which we intend to bring, through which we want to bring transparency and efficiency in the functioning of all sports federations with age and tenure norms in place. Asking them to come under Right to Information Act," said Maken.

"The Sports Bill will clear any such doubts in future and would not leave it to the accused himself to decide whether he wants to continue or not," he said. "It further strengthens our views and any opponent of the Sports Bill should now understand that there are these kind of dilemmas that they might have to face unless the Sports Bill is not passed," he added.

Talking about the age and tenure limit in the Sports Bill, Maken said, "Anyone after a particular tenure will be unable to remain as an office bearer of a federation. Anyone after age of 70 would be unable to be an office bearer of the national sports federation."

"It should be an automatic that any such person or any such accused person after 12 years of office bearer's tenure in a sports federation should not be able to continue."

On the representation of athletes in the NSFs, proposed in the Sports Bill, he said, "With players' participation in the sports bodies I think these federations would be able to function in a more transparent manner and in a much efficient manner."

Maken said that he did not expect any support from the Indian Olympic Association on Sports Bill as its provisions on age and tenure limit were not liked by the IOA officials.

"Of course it is not possible to have any coordination between the Ministry and the IOA on the Sports Bill because its provisions would not be in the interest of the officials of the IOA or the federations."