NEW DELHI: After the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), yet another sports federation — the Volleyball Federation of India (VFI) — has been placed under the ad-hoc body’s rule by the sports ministry due to perpetual infighting, proxy voting and absence of an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) to address grievances related to sexual harassment. The VFI is under suspension since December 2019.
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has been requested to form a transitory or ad-hoc body to conduct elections to the VFI’s executive committee (EC) within 45 days of its formation and “also to manage its affairs, including the selection of athletes and making of entries for the participation of sportspersons in international events for the interim period”.
The mandate of the committee will be the same as that of a two-member ad-hoc panel formed to run the-day-to-day affairs of the WFI and hold its elections.
In the case of volleyball – which is an Olympic and Asian Games sport – the ministry came down hard on the federation for its unprofessionalism, failure to adhere to the sports code and for letting players suffer due to its current state of affairs.
“The ministry has noted that the existing constitution of the VFI is not fully compliant with the provisions of the sports code, 2011, as there are certain provisions such as absence of the provision of 25 percent posts in the EC for prominent sportspersons, absence of an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) to look into complaints of sexual harassment, scope for proxy voting, presence of supernumerary posts, shortcomings in the process of appointment of returning officer for conducting elections, all of which need to be corrected at the earliest,” the ministry said in an office order. A copy of the order is with TOI.
“The athletes are facing several problems including the lack of getting clarity regarding certificates of participation and their future prospects. The existing state of affairs is also jeopardising the participation of Indian players at national and international tournaments, thereby adversely affecting the prospects of the current and future athletes. Having taken a comprehensive view of the whole matter, and since considerable time has elapsed in the ongoing stalemate, the ministry is now of the considered view that the situation cannot be ameliorated unless fresh elections are conducted to the EC of the VFI, without further delay. The size of the EC will stand restricted to 12 and the number of office-bearers and other positions shall be as per the provisions of the sports code,” the order added.
