Government suspends new wrestling body, ‘in complete control of ex-officials’ rap
The new Wrestling Federation of India body, under the leadership of Sanjay Singh, has been suspended by the Sports Ministry.
The ministry announced its decision on Sunday, 24 December citing that the WFI body had shown complete disregard for the existing rules and regulations.
In an official release, the Sports Ministry said that the announcement for national competitions was hasty and that due process was not followed.
WFI Went Against Rules: Ministry
The ministry cited that the president of the newly elected body – Sanjay Kumar Singh – announced on 21 December that the junior national competitions will begin before the end of this year. The ministry detailed that this was against the rules and at least a 15-day notice was needed so that the wrestlers could prepare.
“Such decisions (holding nationals) are to be taken by Executive Committee, before which agendas are required to be placed for consideration. As per Article XI of the WFI constitution under the Heading ‘Notices and Quorum for Meetings’, minimum notice period for EC meeting is 15 clear days and quorum is of 1/3rd of representatives. Even for Emergency EC meeting, minimum notice period is 7 clear days with quorum requirement of 1/3rd of representatives,” the ministry said in its press release.
NEW CHIEF READY FOR LEGAL BATTLE
Top sources from Sanjay Singh’s camp, however, suggested that they were going to pursue the matter legally.
“We are getting ready to take up this matter legally we will counter the decision of suspension our legal team is working on it,” sources told India Today.
The ministry also said that the new body appeared to be in complete control of the previous office bearers, against whom allegations of sexual harassment had been made.
“Newly elected body appears to be in complete control of former office bearers in complete disregard to the Sports Code,” the ministry said.
“The business of the Federation is being run from the premises controlled by former office bearers. Which is also alleged premises wherein sexual harassment of the players have been alleged and present the court is hearing the matter,” it further added.
Earlier on 23 December, Sakshee Malikkh had called out WFI for hosting the junior national competitions in Gonda – the stronghold of Brij Bhushan Singh, who was ousted by the ministry for his alleged involvement in sexual harassment and intimidation.
“The decisions made by the newly elected executive body of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) demonstrate a blatant disregard for the established legal and procedural norms, violating both the WFI’s constitutional provisions and the National Sports Development Code,” the ministry added in its press release.
“The actions smack of complete arbitrariness on part of the President, which is against the settled principles of good governance and devoid of transparency and due process. Adherence to governance norms is vital for ensuring fair play, transparency and accountability. There are crucial to built trust among athletes, stakeholders, and the public,” the statement concluded.