Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal says he has informed the Parliament through a written reply that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is not a recognised national sports federation and does not fall under the ambit of the RTI law.
BJP MP Raosaheb Patil Danve from Maharashtra had raised the issue of giving too much importance to cricket and other sports in the country being neglected due to it.
“Although BCCI has not been officially recognised by the ministry, since the International Cricket Council (ICC) recognises it as the apex body for promotion of cricket in India, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports provides only clearance from the sports angle for organising international cricket matches in India and (for the) participation of the national team in international events abroad at no cost to the government, subject to clearances from the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of External Affairs,” Sonowal was quoted as saying in the Hindustan Times.
While adding that the BCCI does not come under the ambit of RTI, Sonowal also said that the BCCI doesn’t receive any kind of grants or financial assistance from the government.
However, this is contrary to the fact that as many as 47 cricketers have been chosen for national sports awards over the years with Sachin Tendulkar also being conferred the highest civilian honour of Bharat Ratna in 2014.
The BCCI is yet to respond to this latest development.
Earlier in 2014, a Rajya Sabha member wanted to know when the BCCI would be brought under the ambit of RTI to which the ministry responded that it was trying its best to get them under the act. It also said that the Central Information Commission (CIC) was working to resolve the issue.
Although CIC had issued a notice to all the concerned parties, the BCCI had later got an interim stay from the Madras High Court.