CHENNAI: Days after the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI) sent a letter to the sports ministry requesting the ministry to grant them an exemption from following the sports code, a majority of state units have come out openly against the ‘undemocratic nature’ of the federation’s ways and means. The allegations made by state units don’t just stop there. Many of the state bodies feel that ‘we don’t get a single say’ in how the federation ought to be run. This point is in direct contravention of the National Sports Development Code (NSDC).
Raghuvendra Singh Dundlod, Rajasthan unit’s head, said EFI has to toe the NSDC line if equestrian athletes are to get the benefits that athletes from other disciplines are usually entitled to in states. “State units do have voting rights but the entire set-up is non-democratic,” he told this newspaper. The issue here is the direct affiliation of individual members and clubs with the EFI. “The individual members and clubs also have voting rights.”
It’s not just the Rajasthan president who has hit out. The units of Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Karnataka, et. al. have also sung from the same hymn sheet. The main complaint with respect to this is they all feel that the value of the state unit is largely diminished, like that of a clerical posting. “Even though state units get voting rights, we are not treated the same... us and the individual members and institutions. So nobody comes to us, all of them prefer to deal with EFI,” one state unit head said.
Dundlod expanded further. “(...) our 30 votes don’t count. Clubs and members are directly affiliated with the EFI and they can vote. Ideally, they should be affiliated with us and we should be representing them in the EFI.” Another state unit head echoed Dundlod’s sentiments in that these practices have led to zero benefits from the state government. “Other athletes don’t get any benefit from the government and that is a major concern,” Maharashtra unit secretary Ganesh Purandare said. “If one has to popularise it, one has to go to the districts and other centres. It cannot be confined to Army centres where accessibility is always an issue.”
This was another grievance that a lot of heads aired. One of them went as far as to say that EFI isn’t following IOA guidelines. “The officials need to be elected by state federations and clubs shouldn’t have voting rights. “That isn’t done by EFI. It’s completely run by the Army and they have their own members voting for them. So our roles are diminished to the point that we are just spectators. After a point, nobody listens to you. Civilians cannot do much after a point.”
The state units don’t have a problem if the Army does control the federation but all they are asking for is some kind of empowerment. The ministry has already given the federation two and a half years extension to amend its constitution. This time the ministry will take a hard look into this.