Amid wrestlers' protest against WFI President, govt asks IOA to conduct executive committee elections within 45 days

The government on Monday asked the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to constitute an ad-hoc committee to conduct elections of the Executive Committee of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) within 45 days of its formation.

New Delhi: Amid the ongoing protest by the wrestlers against the Wrestling Federation of India President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the government on Monday asked the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to constitute an ad-hoc committee to conduct elections of the Executive Committee of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) within 45 days of its formation and to manage the day-to-day affairs of WFI.

A letter to this effect has been sent by Tarun Pareek, Under Secretary to the government in the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to the President Indian Olmpic Association. In the letter shot off to Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president PT Usha, the Sports Ministry has asked the body to make “suitable interim arrangements for managing WFI”.

The government, which has put on hold the WFI elections scheduled to take place on May 7, has asked the IOA to form an ad-hoc committee to conduct the elections within 45 days of its formation. The latest move by the Sports Ministry comes amid the ongoing stir by wrestlers against Wrestling Federation of India President Brij Bhushan for allegedly sexually harassing women wrestlers.

The protesting wrestlers led by Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik during their protest at Jantar Mantar New Delhi demanded an FIR against Bhushan and have also approached the Supreme Court in the matter. Meanwhile, the letter by the Sports Ministry to the IOA said that the Oversight Committee (OC), which was appointed in January this year has submitted a report to the Government, which is being studied by the sports ministry.

Significantly, the report has noted an “absence of a duly constituted Internal Complaints Committee under the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act, 2013, and lack of an adequate mechanism for awareness building among sportspersons, for grievance redressal etc; need for more transparency and consultation between and Federation and stakeholders, including the sportspersons; need for effective communication between the Federation and Sportspersons”.