Ministry firm on tenures

The ministry also charged Indian Olympic Association secretary general Randhir Singh, also an IOC member, with not consulting them before raising the issue with the world body.

The IOC had intervened in the ongoing battle between the IOA and the ministry over restoration of the 1975 government guidelines that limited the tenure of office-bearers of sports bodies.IOC, in a letter dated May 21, held out a veiled threat to the union sports ministry that the country’s apex sports body would face ‘sanctions’ if the government did not stop meddling in the affairs of the sports bodies by fixing the tenure and age limit of their office-bearers.

In his reply to IOC president Jacques Rogge, Injeti Srinivas, secretary in the sports ministry, said they are yet to receive an official copy of the letter jointly written by IOC and Olympic Council of Asia, and said: “It was released to the media by an IOC member from India.”

“It is unfortunate that the IOC member (Randhir Singh) from India has not even cared to consult us before taking up this matter. In our view, therefore, this is an attempt to create a false situation of crisis, by a few interested people, whose only aim is to protect their unduly long tenures in the IOA and the (National Sports Federations) NSFs. Moreover, the matter is sub-judice. It is, therefore, imperative that the matter is not escalated any further at this stage.

“He (Randhir) is fully aware of the proceedings before the Delhi High Court, as IOA is a respondent, in the ongoing public interest litigation. Further, as the Secretary General of OCA, he is conversant with the sports legislations of Malaysia and Sri Lanka. However, it appears that IOC has not been apprised by him of the national perspective in its entirety, thereby exposing his conflict of interest as well, since he has been holding the post of secretary general, IOA, for over two decades.” Srinivas said the government has not imposed any new regulation.