Supreme Court wants Lodha committee reforms to be used in BAI
The apex court of the land has issued a petition to implement the Lodha Committee reforms in the Badminton Association of India and has asked to jettison ministers like Himanta Biswa Sarma as office-bearers of the body. So far, all the BCCI units have yet to adopt the proposed constitution.
On the aftermath of the IPL spot-fixing scandal, the BCCI suffered the wrath and their constitution had to undergo a major change which led to the sacking of the then BCCI president and secretary Anurag Thakur and Ajay Shirke respectively. While N Srinivasan is still looking for a backdoor entry into the BCCI and waiting for the three-year cooling off period to end, the other sports bodies in the country have seemingly now face the Supreme Court's wrath.
Today, the apex court in India has admitted to having filed a self-petition to bring an end to the tenure of politicians and ministers in the BAI. The current president of BAI, Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is working as a cabinet minister in the Assam state government, will be the first to leave the position if the rules come to the fore. Sarma, apart from heading BAI, is also the head of the Assam Badminton Association and the president of the Assam Cricket Association.
The SC plea has also added that all the major parameters of the Lodha recommendations, which was applicable for the BCCI, will be implemented on the national badminton body as well.
As for the rule of the committee, no minister from either the Union or state government should hold a post of an office-bearer in the national cricket body or any of its state units. The Lodha reforms also limit issues such as 70-year age-limit and a three-year duration of tenure for the officials. If the implementation actually comes to the fore, it is sure to bring in a major revolution of sorts in Indian sports.