Randhir Singh's candidature legitimate, says ministry

BANGALORE: Is there a cloud of doubt over Randhir Singh's candidature in the runup to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) elections? The IOA secretary-general, who is in the race for the post of president in the November 25 polls, has been told by the Union sports ministry that while his candidature is perfectly legitimate according to the letter of the national sports code, it violates the spirit of the code.
Randhir had sought a clarification from the ministry last week on whether he would be declared ineligible to contest for the post of president as he had served as IOA's secretary-general for the past five consecutive terms.
Sources said the ministry told Randhir that the cooling-off period of four years applied only to those who contested for the same post after having occupied it for a stipulated period. It did not apply in Randhir's case as the code did not bar any candidate standing for a post other than the one he or she occupied.
At the same time, the ministry saw a big loophole waiting to be exploited. The code specifies the duration for which the office-bearers -- only the president, secretary and treasurer -- can occupy the post and also mentions the cooling-off period before they can stand for elections to the same post. But the formulators of the code hadn't foreseen the possibility of these office-bearers jumping from one executive post to another only to stay in power.
In a counter-affidavit filed at the behest of the Delhi High Court, which is hearing a plea against the election of Anil Khanna as All India Tennis Association (AITA) president, the ministry said that the practice of office-bearers playing musical chairs went against the ethics of the code. Khanna was earlier the secretary of AITA. It also argued that the cooling-off period should apply to all executive posts, including that of the vice-president.
The HC hearing in the PIL against Khanna's election, filed by prominent Delhi lawyer Rahul Mehra, is expected to come up next month. In his plea, Mehra had claimed that Khanna's election as president of AITA, after having served as secretary-general for multiple terms, was violative of the sports code.
The verdict will form the basis of the amendments to the code that the ministry has planned in the future. "In its present form, the code has the backing of the judiciary. We don't want to make any changes now as they may be challenged in court. Once we get the HC ruling, we will amend the code so as to make it more comprehensive and legally binding on all sports bodies," ministry sources told TOI.