Kalmadi & Co meet Prime Minister, get no assurance

Heads of sporting federations, including Indian Olympic Association chief Suresh Kalmadi, met PM Manmohan Singh on Wednesday to protest the sports ministry limiting their tenures but came away with little assurance.

The plea that the order was ill-timed, coming before the Commonwealth Games and in the midst of a security inspection, and that autonomy of sporting federations was affected elicited a non-committal response.

BJP leader and archery chief Vijay Malhotra said every country had different standards. Sources said Singh heard out the team but offered no assurance.

Indian Olympic Association chief Suresh Kalmadi, speaking to the media after meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday, focused on the timing of the sports ministry's intervention while IOA secretary general Randhir Singh referred to an International Olympic Committee (IOC) directive on autonomy of national federations. They said the PM had agreed to "study" their case and get back to them.

The so-called IOC threat does not seem to have intimidated the government. On IOA's argument that government "interference" in working of sports federations might invite de-recognition by IOC, the government is preparing to despatch officials to interact directly with the international sports organization.

The PM is most unlikely to weigh in for the sports federations, given their record of opaque functioning and poor results in most disciplines. The argument that federations were elected bodies and office-bearers held office democratically has not cut much ice as the government feels it has the powers to set tenure limits.

On the timing of the announcement, the government's riposte is that it has responded to events in the Delhi High Court which is hearing a PIL challenging the continuance of several sports bosses as office-bearers almost indefinitely and seeking implementation of guidelines on fixed tenures. The limit of 12 years on tenures either consecutively or with breaks is seen as reasonable by the government.

The sports ministry's case is strengthened by a previous ruling of the Delhi HC in a case challenging former Punjab top cop K P S Gill's perch as hockey federation head in March, 2009, which said the Centre's guidelines should be implemented.

These would help minimize, if not eliminate, allegations of nepotism and corruption, the court had held. In that 2009 order, the court had ruled that Parliament has the power to legislate in the matters of National Sports Federations, that the guidelines of 1975 were valid, binding and enforceable and also that the tenure clause is not in violation of the IOC Charter.

The judgment went against KPS Gill despite the government maintaining that it had lost the file referring to a decision to implement the guidelines.

In the NDA tenure, while Uma Bharati had suspended the guidelines, her successor Vikram Verma had reversed the order. A photocopy of this missing file was delivered to the petitioner's lawyer anonymously.

It was found to be an accurate copy. It proved to be critical in turning the case against the powerful ex-super cop.