CHENNAI: It’s been almost a year since Railways Sports Promotion Board, Services Sports Control Board and All India University were sidelined, after the Lodha Committee recommended one-state-one-vote rule for the BCCI.
These institutions were relegated to affiliate status. Until Friday, these bodies were staring at uncertain future, but things seemed to have changed after the Supreme Court said it may hear the plea of Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi to consider the case of the institutions.
Though the timing of the petition did catch many by surprise, as there was talks in the BCCI that they might get a lifeline once the former Chief Justice of India TS Thakur retired, there is no questioning the merit of the petition. If the Lodha recommendations are implemented, then these units which have enjoyed voting rights in the BCCI, can’t vote. And once the vote is taken away, these units will no longer enjoy the privileges they have enjoyed.
Ever since the Lodha panel tabled its report, the RSPB felt it was injustice as they have been one of the largest recruiters of cricketers in the country. “We have been wanting to meet Justice Lodha in person. But because of so much hearing in the court, we couldn’t.
We filed a petition, were told it will be heard later. But that never happened. At this point we reached out to the Attorney General because we needed the support of Government. We can’t allow an outsider in place of a bureaucrat to run RSPB,” a senior Railways official told Express.
Although this move by these institutions has given the BCCI a breather, sources in the know revealed it wasn’t a case of them trying to help the board. “We have no problem with the recommendations. We don’t have one person running the show. If I vacate the chair, someone else takes my place, like in any government institution. If reduced to affiliate, we won’t even be able to retain the players we have,” the official added.
However, sources in Lodha panel said the institutions have woken up late on the matter. “They have been sitting on it for over a year now. It was there when we tabled the report.”
With regard to the nine-year tenure for office-bearers, the Lodha panel has left it to the Supreme Court to decide. “The panel had tabled nine-plus-nine years, but the January 2 order said it will be cumulative period and hence the confusion. We have asked for clarity and will go by what the court says,” source said.
venkatakrishna@newindianexpress.com