Sports minister Kiren Rijiju welcomes BCCIâs decision of incorporating NADA, calls it 'major positive turn'
Sports minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday welcomed the BCCI's decision to come under the scope of National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA). He also termed it a significant step towards clean and transparent governance and could have a move that could have far-reaching implications in the near future.
After nearly a decade of the stalling the ministryâs attempts to incorporate the NADA policy into BCCI, the Board finally relented on Friday, a move that Rijiju believes could have far-reaching implications in the near future.
"I don't want any issues or matter to remain unresolved. All the differences must be resolved amicably because I believe in clean and transparent governance in Sports in the interest of the sports and sportspersons," Rijiju told PTI.
The BCCI was reluctant to come under NADA due to a fear that their autonomy would get hurt. In fact, leading cricketers had also protested about the debatable 'Whereabouts Clause' related to Out Of Competition (OOC) testing, fearing that their privacy would be compromised.
However, during a meeting between BCCI CEO Rahul Johri and sports secretary Radhe Shyam Julaniya, the conflicts were put to rest as they agreed to incorporate the anti-doping code.
"I explained to BCCI you don't have a discretion to abide by the law or not. The law applies to everyone equally," Julaniya said after the groundbreaking development following a meeting with the BCCI officials.
"Every federation is on the same footing for enforcement of law. You don't have to sign an agreement. We categorically told them no MOU is required as the law is applicable to everyone," he had said.