IOA president PT Usha calls out ministry amid tension over IGU elections

NEW DELHI: In a rare occurrence which doesn’t augur well for the country’s sporting ambitions, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president P T Usha has accused the sports ministry of interfering in the autonomy of national federations and undermining the credibility of sports governance and fair play “with its selective approach” towards certain factions of the NSFs it wishes to back.
Usha, who is a BJP nominated MP in the Rajya Sabha and heads the panel of vice-chairman of the House, alleged in her strongly-worded letter to sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya that his ministry staff doesn’t properly apprise him of important issues concerning the NSFs, including the Indian Golf Union (IGU) polls.
Usha’s outburst came in reaction to a letter issued by an under secretary on Jan 2, in which the ministry official criticised the IOA for recognising the Harish Shetty-led faction, which won the IGU elections. Two Annual General Meetings (AGMs) were held on Dec 15 to elect the new IGU office-bearers. In one AGM. Shetty was elected president with Justice OP Garg (Retd) as the returning officer (RO). At the other AGM, Brijender Singh was re-elected to the top post with retired Punjab and Haryana High Court judge, Rameshwar Malik, as the RO.
IOA later recognised Shetty-led panel for meeting the quorum – the AGM had an attendance of 21 out of the total 31 state golf associations. (SGAs). The AGM chaired by Singh saw the participation of only nine recognised SGAs.
“The manner in which this letter has been issued appears procedurally incorrect and reflects a lack of verification of the facts on record and a complete non application of mind by the under secretary. Since I have assumed office in the lOA, it has become more and more apparent that the staff of the ministry deliberately never appraises the true and correct facts to the minister. It’s troubling that the ministry has placed undue emphasis on the mere updating of the International Golf Federation (IGF) website as a basis for granting recognition to the faction of IGU. Such reliance on superficial factors cannot be the foundation for granting recognition to an NSF,” Usha wrote in her reply to Mandaviya.
“I urge the ministry to take corrective action to ensure adherence to the principles of transparency, accountability, and compliance with the national sports development code 2011 and recall its letter dated 28 Dec 2024, granting recognition to the illegal elections to the faction of IGU which did not meet the mandatory quorum for conduct of an AGM as required by its own constitution. The selective application of norms undermines the credibility of sports governance in India and the spirit of fair play that we aim to uphold. I look forward to your intervention to address these concerns at the earliest,” she added.
Usha pointed out that NSFs such as equestrian, yachting etc. which have failed to conduct elections after completion of their term almost three years back continue to enjoy recognition from the ministry in clear violation of the sports code. She also cited the delay in providing recognition to the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) by the ministry.
“WFI has continued to select and send its teams for all international events of UWW and for the Olympic Games, despite the same the ministry still holding back its recognition for unknown reasons since Dec 2023. This has been nothing but an attempt to interfere in the autonomy of the NSFs by the MYAS, despite there being many warnings by the UWW and the IOC not to interfere in the WFI affairs,” she said.