Conduct elections in three weeks: Sports Ministry tells Paralympic Committee of India
PCI was suspended by the sports ministry earlier this month citing delay in elections.
Three days after the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) got a shot in the arm from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the sports ministry has asked the PCI to conduct its elections within 21 days and work in conjunction with SAI to conduct next month's para shooting World Cup in New Delhi.
PCI was suspended by the sports ministry earlier this month citing delay in elections. The tenure of the current Executive Committee (EC) of PCI expired on January 31 and the ministry noted that the PCI should have conducted fresh elections before the dissolution of the EC.
PCI, in their General Body Meeting on January 12, decided to conduct the polls on March 28 in contravention of its own by-laws as well as the National Sports Code. The delay, PCI chief Deepa Malik had said, was to ensure smooth conduct of the shooting World Cup (March 6-15) where 24 Paralympic quotas will be up for grabs.
In its suspension order, the ministry had also directed the Sports Authority of India (SAI) to co-ordinate with the IPC to form an ad hoc committee "to undertake the tasks performed by PCI" and "conduct free, fair and transparent elections."
On Thursday, Malik along with her EC met sports secretary Sujata Chaturvedi and DG SAI at SAI headquarters to discuss the course of action. The ministry didn't indicate any immediate relief in terms of suspension, it asked PCI to conduct the elections within three weeks in New Delhi.
"The election notification will be issued in a day or two. The ministry came down heavily on PCI secretary Gurusharan Singh and the EC, accusing them of being selective in their understanding of their by-laws. The ministry also explicitly directed the PCI to hold the elections in the capital and not in Bengaluru as decided in PCI's GBM," an official said.
"The para shooting World Cup will be conducted in conjunction with SAI. We are committed to make it a successful event," Gurusharan Singh said. "There was no discussion on the constitution of ad hoc committee after IPC noted that the PCI "is currently not in breach of any of its member obligations."
"We are not in a position to form an ad hoc committee with the Sports Authority of India as you suggest," the IPC said.
"We expect our members to manage their affairs autonomously and without interference from bodies outside the Paralympic Movement as required by the provisions of the IPC Constitution," said the letter dated February 12 and written by IPC Chief Membership and Impact Officer Kristina Molloy.
The world body also advised all the stakeholders to find an "agreeable and workable solution" to the prevailing impasse.
Meanwhile, the repercussions of the friction between the ministry and PCI are already being felt. At least one major sponsor has pulled out while 2-3 sponsors are jittery following PCI's suspension, resulting in a loss of ₹2-7cr.
"Suspension doesn't make for good optics. Indian Oil, which was supposed to contribute Rs.2 crore for the World Cup, has backed out. While a majority of hotel rooms are booked, the booking of at least 50 rooms is held up because of this setback," an official informed.
"A few other sponsors are dilly-dallying, which means roughly ₹6-7cr are stuck. We need funds to pull off an event featuring 500-odd shooters from 50 nations," another official said.