CHENNAI: After conducting elections for the Archery Association of India, one part of the Supreme Court-appointed committee for the All India Football Federation, SY Quraishi, is now waiting for the upcoming AAI hearing before submitting his draft of the AIFF constitution.
Just like in the case of archery, there are major changes in this as well. The matter of retirement age has been an issue for some time now. In the draft that the former Election Commissioner of India has prepared, the 70-year cap is there for elected representatives while the retirement age comes down to 60 if the member is not elected and is simply an employee who draws a salary from the parent body.
Another important clause is that public servants will be barred from holding any official post. While secretary Kushal Das will be ruled out because of his age and his status as an employee, president Praful Patel, a Rajya Sabha MP, will also not remain at the helm. Patel is currently in the race for a seat in the FIFA council.
“Broadly, the same principles as in the AAI constitution are being followed. I had sent the draft to the various stakeholders who had gotten back with suggestions. The main thing is we are waiting for the SC’s hearing on the archery elections. Based on that, I will submit the draft,” he said.
When asked whether he faced any resistance while formulating the AIFF constitution, as he did during his stint as the Delhi High Court-appointed administrator of AAI, the 71-year-old said, “I have been travelling since the AAI elections. I have heard and read about the problems the new body had to face post elections. I followed the law of the land while preparing the draft. Now it will be up to the SC again to decide whether they deem the necessary changes fit.”
Quraishi is drawing from Justice RM Lodha’s recommendations for the Board of Control for Cricket in India after the Indian Premier League corruption scandal. The apex court had, last year, appointed Quraishi and former India captain Bhaskar Ganguly as ombudsmen for the federation and asked them to draft a new constitution. After they hand in the draft, the SC will decide if fresh polls are required or not.