He said that it would allow the public access to financial records of the cricket body.In an interview to A TV Channel, Maken takes direct aim at India’s cricket board for fighting his new bill that demands greater transparency from sports bodies, including the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
“I will not compromise on his belief that the BCCI must be subject to the Right to Information Act
(RTI), which would allow the public access to its financial records” Maken told a TV Channel today.
He said that India had a bill like the one he proposed to the union cabinet yesterday, the expansive and expensive Commonwealth Games scam could have been avoided.
On Tuesday Maken told media persons that Indian Cricket Board needs to be more accountable in its functioning. He said that the proposed Bill was intended to make sports bodies more transparent and efficient and was in no way an attempt to take control of these National Sports Federations.
Mr. Maken said that he was particularly disappointed with the opposition to the Bill by cricket administrators and said, federations need to be brought under the ambit of the Right to Information Act for greater accountability. He said that government is in favour of transparency and efficiency in their functioning, since they are sending teams outside India representing the country, they should be answerable to all Indians through RTI.
He said that the BCCI should point out what provisions are intrusive in nature and which clauses will have government control. Explaining the nuances of the Bill, Mr. Maken said, having sportspersons in administration is a step towards transparency.
Mr. Maken said, after receiving Minutes of the Cabinet Meeting which discussed the Bill on Tuesday, the Ministry will start reworking on the Bill and place it before the Cabinet again.
He expressed hope that the Bill will get the nod of the Cabinet next time. He made it clear that his sole intention is to bring about transparency and accountability in sports and is convinced that the Bill will serve the purpose.
Meanwhile the BCCI on Wednesday hit back at Maken him, saying the minister was not aware of the “ground realities” as they have already adopted transparency measures.
Some of the top bosses of Indian sports – Sharad Pawar, Farooq Abdullah, CP Joshi, Praful Patel and Vilasrao Deshmukh on Tuesday rejected Sports Bill in the Cabinet saying that the Bill is intrusive, draconian, authoritarian and unjust.