NEW DELHI: Bishen Singh Bedi, former India cricket captain called for the creation of an atmosphere of cooperation between the government and the national sports federations.

“Confrontation will not take us anywhere,” Bedi said, “Amidstall this confusion with regard to the government guidelines,” he said, “the most important people, the sportsperson, are being ignored.” “The officials do not matter. It is the sportsman or woman in the field that brings kudos to the country,” he said.

According to Bedi who is also president of the Arjuna Awardees Association, the aim and purpose of both the government and federations is the same raising the standard of sports in the country.

In this context, Bedi, who said he was speaking in his personal capacity and had no axe to grind for anyone, was the opinion that the proposal to put sports, hitherto on the State List, on the Concurrent List, was a ‘welcome move, He said the move would bring in the factor of accountability “so sorely lacking in Indian sports right now.”

After all, the government is spending the taxpayers money, it certainly has the right to know what is happening with it, the famed left arm spinner said, “What has been achieved when it was on the state list all these years?” he asked.

He conceded that the federations had a right to have a grouse against the government “butting in” but, he added, if they don’t want the government to come near, let them make themselves financially independent like the board of control for cricket in India has done,

I may not have agreed with a lot of the policies of the Board. But, the fact remains that people like Mr. M. A Chidambaram have raised the financial status of the Board to such an extent that it is now supposed to be the best run sports organization in the country,” Bedi said Bedi expressed his disagreement with the argument that more than two terms were required for office bearers to make their presence felt in the international bodies,

He said if a country does well in the world arena a say in the international bodies follows automatically.

“If your performances are good, there is no way they can ignore you.”

For producing good results eight years are more than enough, according to Bedi, “If a person can’t deliver goods in that period, he has no business to be a in a sports body.”

Bedi was of the opinion that elections to various posts in the sports bodies breed corruption and allied problems.

Article extracted from this publication >>  May 12, 1989