Govt should have consulted IOC earlier: Randhir

The government has failed to understand the Olympic Charter and should have consulted the International Olympic Committee before issuing the regulation to limit the tenures of sports administrators, Randhir Singh said.

New Delhi: The government has failed to understand the Olympic Charter and should have consulted the

International Olympic Committee before issuing the regulation to limit the tenures of sports administrators, IOA secretary general Randhir Singh said on Thursday. "The Government has done a big mistake by going against the Olympic Charter. Now they are sending a representative to consult with IOC. But I think, they should have talked to the IOC before issuing the guideline," Randhir told reporters. The IOA secretary general`s remarks came a day after the government offered to send an official to IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland to clear the roadblocks and implement the regulation which seeks to limit the tenure of National Sports Federation (NSF) and IOA bosses. Randhir questioned the timing of the regulation and said the Sports Ministry failed to understand the Olympic Charter which makes it clear that government cannot infringe on the autonomy of the NSFs. "Such developments are unfortunate specially when the Commonwealth Games is inching closer. I think, the whole incident has taken place due to not understanding of the Olympic Charter.” "But you have to respect the Olympic Charter which doesn`t want any political interferrence. The charter has to be maintained if we want to remain in the Olympic family," he added. Randhir had earlier flaunted letters of support from IOC and Olympic Council of Asia even though the Sports Ministry saw a "conflict of interests" in his role as members of both IOC and IOA. Randhir said the "personal attack" on him was unfortunate. "This is very sad and unfortunate that they are questioning my credibility. They say I have some vested interests. They are attacking the integrity of a person who has dedicated his life to sports," he said. "The Ministry has no business to question my integrity and credibility as a sportsperson, sports administrator and IOC member. In sports circle the world over, people would vouch for my honesty in whatever I have done all these years, particularly to promote sports in India," he said. "Ministry`s grouse seems to be that I had approached the IOC without consulting the government. But there is no need for me to consult the government on issues relating to IOC and I`m not bound at all," Randhir asserted. "We have informed IOC about all the developments. It`s our duty to keep the IOC informed but this incident showed India in poor light. What purpose will it serve when the whole world comes to know about the controversy?" he asked. "Commonwealth Games are nearing and the government should now concentrate fully on the preparation of the venues. There are concerns about some of the venues like Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and the Ministry now should not waste time over such issues," Randhir said. Interestingly, Randhir also had some words of praise for Sports Minister M S Gill. "The Sports Minister otherwise has brought in some very good changes. I personally praise the Minister, who has been a great help to the sportspersons. He has also done a good job by hiking pension of the former players," Randhir said. "But the latest development is an unfortunate one and the timing is also wrong. I request the government to go through the guidelines of Olympic Charter because we want to solve the problem amicably," Randhir added. PTI