Wrestlers’ protest: TMC MPs walk out of par panel meeting

New Delhi, Jun 1 (PTI) TMC MPs on Thursday walked out of a parliamentary panel meeting after their demand to discuss the safety provisions for women athletes at various sports federations was rejected by its chairman and BJP MP Vivek Thakur, TMC MP Sushmita Dev said.Thakur said the issue was not part of the meeting’s agenda and was also subjudice, rejecting the demand for discussion by the TMC members.

TMC MPs — Dev and Asit Kumar Mal– raised the issue of the safety of women athletes at the meeting of the Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports, and asked if internal complaints committees were formed at different sports federations and if they were active, sources said. “When West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is on the streets, as a member of this standing committee on women and children, I felt compelled to walk out of the meeting because the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs has failed to act. I could not have sat around as a mute spectator as the standing committee is a watchdog of public policy and not the ‘pet dog’ of the government,” Dev told reporters after the meeting.
According to sources, Dev said parliamentary panels are supposed to analyse issues and policies, and as the government funds these federations they should be able to question them on policies such as forming of ICCs. Congress MP Akhilesh Singh, three others from the BJP and M Thambidurai of the AIADMK were present at the meeting.

It was also attended by Secretary (Sports) Sujata Chaturvedi; Sandeep Pradhan, Director General, Sports Authority of India; Cdre (Retd) P K Garg, CEO, TOPS; R C Mishra, Vice Chancellor, National Sports University; Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports, Patiala, among others.Sources said the Secretary (Sports) informed Dev that the government has no role in the functioning of sports federations and any interference by the dispensation in these federations will be against the spirit guiding sports administration globally.
According to sources, Thakur said the issue is not part of the agenda for the meeting and the matter is subjudice so the committee cannot discuss it. He also pointed out that the agenda for Thursday’s meeting is India’s preparation for the next Olympics after which the TMC MPs walked out of the meeting.

While Congress’ Singh supported Dev, sources said he did not follow them out.Dev had on May 9 written to Thakur on the allegations of sexual harassment by women wrestlers and said the committee should take a review of the implementation of all statutory laws that applied to the sports federations and other bodies and the role of the sports ministry in this regard.She also requested that a meeting of the committee be held with a specific agenda that ensures a thorough review of this issue.