HYDERABAD: Do the district
cricket
associations have to follow the Supreme Court mandated Justice (retd) RM Lodha reforms? The question has gripped the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) as
the Visakhapatnam District Cricket Association
(VDCA) has decided to go ahead with its elections according to its old constitution.
The AGM will be held on July 11 in
Visakhapatnam at which time the 13-member office-bearer team will be declared elected unanimously. The only two changes from the previous body will be RVCH Prasad coming in place of SG Prasad as vice-president and
CP Reddy in place of GT Prasad as joint secretary.
The bone of contention is that most of the office-bearers have completed the nine-year term and therefore are not eligible to hold office and that the VDCA should hold elections according to the norms laid down in the Lodha reforms.
“Most of the members are not eligible to hold office as per the Lodha reforms which was adopted by the BCCI and ACA as they have completed more than nine years in office. In fact, the secretary has been holding the post for more than three decades,” said a source in the VDCA.
Sources said Kadapa, Anantapur and Chittoor are among some of the district associations which have amended their bye-laws to confirm with the ACA & BCCI norms and elections have also been held.
A complaint has been lodged with the ACA regarding implementation of the nine-year rule. “Some of the district members are asking us about it. A complaint has been lodged and we have referred it to the Ombudsman. It is a legal aspect and the Ombudsman will have to decide on it. The ACA will act according to the decision of the Ombudsman,” ACA secretary V Durga Prasad told ToI on Thursday.
Asked if the VDCA is violating the norms of the ACA, Durga Prasad was non-committal. “After the BCCI’s Apex Council came into existence, the BCCI, at the later stage, amended some of the rules and regulations in the bye-laws. The BCCI has approached the Supreme Court for permission to go ahead with the amendments and the issue is pending in the court. Now everybody is in a confusion about how to go forward with regards to the lower levels. In AP we have district associations but no other state has that structure. The neighbouring state associations like Hyderabad, Karnataka or Tamil Nadu don’t have district wise structure. They have clubs and individuals. That’s why the confusion,” he said and added “after getting the approval or denial from the SC, we can know where we stand.”
On the VDCA elections, he said: “They are following their own constitution as of now. If we get any confirmation from the BCCI, then we will also insist that the district bodies have to follow the recommendations. If the BCCI gets permission from the SC then we too will amend our constitution. Like that the districts will also amend their constitution. However, the nine-year term rule and the 70 years of age rule will stay in the amended BCCI & ACA constitutions.
“Right now, orally, we are requesting all members to follow the reforms. When we get the confirmation from the higher authorities then they will have no choice. Till such time, the ambiguity persists,” he added.
CP requested to stall AGM
Meanwhile, a member of a club has requested the Commissioner of Police, Visakhapatnam, not to allow the VDCA to go ahead with the AGM on July 11 because the venue – ACA-VDCA stadium in Madhurawada – is in a containment (red zone) area. The letter says that 85 to 100 members will be present at the AGM and that will pose a threat to the members as Covid-19 cases are increasing in the area.
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