Lodha Committee Report Cleans The Dirt Of Corruption In BCCI

By Dr. Vivek Kumar Srivastava

05 January, 2016
Countercurrents.org

Lodha committee report has brought out the real dynamics of the BCCI power holders in open. When it says that that no BCCI office-bearer can be Minister or government servant or the other way round no minister and bureaucrat can be a BCCI official; it evidences that politicians from different political parties have enjoyed the cushioned positions in BCCI in the name of running the business. The moot question is when these are failed to run the country in effective manner, how can they run any organization successfully? The game of cricket is loved by uncountable Indians, hence the show runs. They are not so skilled that they could run the game.

Committee suggests that there should be an ethical officer in BCCI for conflict of interest; it means that ethical norms were widely flouted by its functionaries in the previous time. One major issue related to selection of the players and appointment as coaches and supporting staff. Several players find more opportunities than others and some are appointed as coach with no impressive performance during their playing days. There is a definite share of maneuverings, contacts, sharing of the benefits and allocating advantages. BCCI for this reason has become symbol of tricky and uneven playing business with only objective of enjoying the pleasures of life.

Committee has suggested that BCCI should be brought under the RTI. A major suggestion as BCCI always cheated public saying that it was a private body, if so why did it use the name of India. Any entity with the name using India is a property of India as a nation state and in that sense people of India are its masters. BCCI’s arguments are therefore highly unethical and sad story is that several politicians associated with BCCI also never took any moralistic stand on this issue. A common Indian asks; why so?

Committee has also suggested that there should be limitations on the person assuming the post as no two posts at the same time and restricted number of terms, this is a welcome suggestion as it will prevent the politicians and others to become a monopolistic owner of the posts. It has happened in FIFA where Blatter and Platini are banned for eight years, this has happened due to same reason that Blatter had become almost a lifetime dictator of football administration. Europeans talk much about their justice and ethical behavior but story lies somewhere else. Both Blatter and Platini are under humiliation due to ban for their impropriety in monetary matters including disloyal payments, abusive use of position. Indian administrators in different domains are always under doubts for their increasing influence.

Three related issues also need to be highlighted:

First: the role of the government was pathetic in during whole course of development. It is a sad story that government at any level never tried to reform the BCCI. As RTI issue was always a pinch in the eyes of the common people but no serious efforts were made. In this respect Ajay Makan needs to be appreciated that he took some substantial steps but these were not supported by others. Moreover government since last several decades took no notice of the consumerist feast of the BCCI officials which reached on pinnacle during the phase of IPL. In the name of new business model IPL, several of the citizen centric issues were overlooked. It shows that political parties of any hue in the country have only one objective i.e. to attain the power but never to think about any substantial reform in any organization which is under mess. The reformative spirit is lacking among these. In the recent time the issue of DDCA seems to have met the same fate by these political parties.

Second: the day of Lodha committee report submission arrived due to efforts by the civil society organizations and the effort by individual at personal capacity who brought the case of BCCI to the apex court. It therefore shows that individual efforts if supported by the collative force or the collective force outside of the ruling system , at the level of the common citizen is sufficient power to tame the unrestrained ones. This facts need to be understood by all of us and this message should be spread as far as possible.

Finally: the role of the Supreme Court in the Indian post independent history needs special appreciation. The fact is that after the demise of Pt. Nehru the role of Supreme Court has become quite important, particularly since 1967 when in Golak Nath case it gave a blow to the executive that Fundamental rights could not be amended. After 1980s it expanded in several new areas and after the age of globalization it has delivered several citizen centric decisions as use of CNG buses in Delhi etc.; now its role in BCCI case is praiseworthy.

Executives should attempt to introspect as to why is it happening so? Why is there gradual shift of faith of the people from the political world towards the judicial world? This is not healthy trend for Indian democracy. Need is that politicians of all the streams should try to work in the national and people oriented interests not exclusively for their own interests. This is not true edifice of the political world.

Lodha committee report therefore is not a report solely on the BCCI but it also indicates that all is not well in the Indian politics. The penetrating efforts of Indian politicians in the glamorous world of cricket represented by BCCI and state bodies are not good for any one. Politicians must learn this message from the report.

Dr. Vivek Kumar Srivastava is Assistant Professor, CSJM Kanpur University (affiliated College) and Vice Chairman CSSP, e [email protected]