Sports Ministry suspends Paralympic Committee of India over election delays
The Sports Ministry has decided to suspend the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) on February 3. The decision has been taken because of the delay in conducting the election of the Executive Committee.
The last elections of PCI took place in September 2019 but the Delhi High Court restrained the declaration of the result. The Returning officer was allowed to declare the results on January 31, 2020. Hence, the four-year term of the Executive Committee ended on January 31, 2024.
The PCI should have conducted the election for the new Executive Committee before the term of the previous committee ended. However, in a notice issued on January 22, PCI announced the new date of elections as March 28.
This was a violation of the Sports Code of PCI’s own constitution. The PCI has been recognized as the National Sports Federation (NSF) for Para-sports in the country by the Sports Ministry. The Ministry issued a circular on February 10, 2015, which directed all the NSFs and IOA to conduct elections for the new office bearers at least one month before the expiry of the term of the office bearers.
Ministry appoints Ad Hoc Committee to oversee operations
PCI’s decision to conduct the elections for the new Executive Committee was taken willfully and without any valid reason. The ministry has hence suspended the PCI till further orders.
The ministry has directed the Sports Authority of India (SAI) to coordinate with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to form an Ad Hoc Committee. The Ad Hoc Committee will consist of eminent administrators and sportspersons.
They will undertake the tasks performed by the PCI to safeguard the interests of the Indian para-sportspersons and the para-sports disciplines. The committee will also be responsible for overseeing the operations of PCI and will conduct free, fair, and transparent elections as per the Sports Code.
The decision to suspend PCI comes at a time when the Paralympic Games are scheduled to take place a few months later. The 2024 Summer Paralympics will take place in Paris from August 28 to September 8.
India finished in 24th position during the 2020 Summer Paralympics with five gold, eight silver, and six bronze medals.