Make BCCI accountable to
public
Indian sports have
been dominated by business interests. Big money and glamour attract businessmen, politicians and
assorted characters into sports administration. The Indian cricket board is the
richest national body in the game and
main money-spinner is the lucrative
Indian Premier League.
The Board of
Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is a private and autonomous body and it is
what it is today only because of the great public support that cricket
commands. The B.C.C.I - the richest cricket body in the world - is being run by
a coterie of men with different political and business interests but with two
common interests: power and money! A
way to make the B.C.C.I accountable without sacrificing its autonomy is to bring
it under the R.T.I Act immediately or the S.C. can intervene and ask the CAG to
do an annual audit of the financial transactions of the B.C.C.I.
The previous
United Progressive Alliance regime had prepared a draft ‘National Sports
Development Bill’. Among its aims was the “promotion of ethical practices in
sports.” Business minded people have
made sports a business that too in a corrupt manner. The National Sports bodies
bill must be introduced soon in parliament and sports should be cleansed but
not politicized.
Not only cricket
every sports body in India has conflict of interest among their heads. They
just lead the body to earn money cutting across the party line in the name of
promoting the game. Favouritism, nepotism and corruption dwell in bodies such
as IOA and IBA. Allegations and inquiries are common. That's how we want to
raise stature of Indian sports in world plank?
Primarily, the
sports should be cleansed. So long as corrupt politicians are at the helm of
sports bodies, it is near impossible to cleanse them. Cricket is the most
popular sport in India. Hence, BCCI is the richest sports body. Of late, the
Corporates encroached into cricket because of abundant profit. Politicians
& corporates are hand in glove to spin quick bucks. This unholy alliance
leads to corruption, betting, etc.
Only accredited
sportsmen should be elected to administer sports bodies. Politicians’
involvement is leading to parochialism and nepotism in the selection of
candidates for national and international events and eligible candidates are
deprived opportunity. Bureaucrats indulge in major corruption through pleasure
jaunts during international sports events with Government funds.
IPL, a
revolutionary concept which promises not only to popularise cricket as a game
but also to contribute significantly to Indian economy, should be administered
hassle free. Its contribution in creating an Indian cricket talent pool, who
can take the world head on at any moment, is also significant. Given the
enormous benefits that Indian cricket is harnessing because of IPL, top
priority of administration should be to keep it clean and accountable to the
public, no matter what.
BCCI is running
business not cricket. Cronyism at
its worst!! Were it not for
influential politicians, BCCI would have been overthrown long back. It is a
shame that despite being proven guilty, the Government is not able to displace
the persons at the helm. It is bad for cricket and cricket fans. The fate lies
in the hands of judiciary. Scrapping IPL or BCCI is not a solution. Going
inline with the current regime's motto, we need minimum government and maximum
governance. BCCI should be made accountable to public.
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