Code of conduct for sports federations soon

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MARCH 3. The conduct of the National sports federations will henceforth be governed by a `code of conduct' to be drawn up by the Union Sports Ministry.

The Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Ms. Uma Bharti, received overwhelming support from the States for the formulation of such a code at a meeting of the sports ministers of States and Union Territories at the National Stadium here on Saturday.

Ms. Bharti said she would soon convene a meeting of the federations also to discus the matter and then elaborate on the features of the proposed `code of conduct'.

Reacting to a suggestion that the `code of conduct' was meant for the Board of Control for Cricket in India following the recent match-fixing scandal, the Minister said all sports bodies recognised by the Union Government, including the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), would come under the purview of the code.

Apart from the code of conduct, the meeting discussed two other main topics-setting up of sports academies in States and the National Sports Policy.

Each State would be setting up an academy in a sport in which it was proficient. The selection of the sport would be entirely up to the State concerned, Ms. Bharti explained.

The new National Sports Policy was ready and a note had been forwarded to the Cabinet for its approval, the Minister said. Before the policy was given its final shape, the Minister wanted the opinion of the States also on the matter.

The vexed issue of sports being brought under the Concurrent List also came up before the meeting and to her ``pleasant surprise'', Ms Bharti noted that two of the States which had vehemently opposed the move in the past, West Bengal and Kerala, were now prepared to support it.

Asked what good would come in case sport was brought under the Concurrent List, the Minister said the Centre would not be so helpless as it was when the cricket match-fixing issue had cropped up recently.

Ms. Bharti said the Congress, the main opposition party, had promised her its support as and when legislation was brought forward on the subject in Parliament, but the ministers from the Congress-ruled States of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh were not very clear about their stand on the matter.

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Section  : Sport
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