A day after the Himachal Pradesh High Court came down heavily on the State Government for forcibly taking over properties of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA), the Government said that it did not believe in interfering in the affairs of the various sports organisations.
In a statement here, Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri said that the State Government was committed to promote sports activities in the State and maintain the true spirit and sanctity of sports.
“The State Government did not believe in interfering in the affairs of various sports organisations, however, it was its duty to ensure that these worked in a fair and democratic manner for the bonafide purpose of promoting sports and benefiting the public,” he said. Asserting that the State Government had no intention whatsoever of taking control over sports organisations, Agnihotri said its objective was to facilitate them and ensure that these worked transparently and democratically as per rules and regulations.
“At the same time, the Government wants to ensure that sports bodies do not become preserve or private property of any individual or their vested interests,” the Minister said. He alleged that the outcry of vendetta by the BJP was a “political ploy to pressurise and detract the investigating agencies which were looking into various irregularities committed during the previous Government”.
Agnihotri claimed that the affairs of HPCA had been in controversy for quite some time and there were numerous complaints against its functioning from various quarters, which were being looked into independently by different agencies. HPCA is headed by Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur, who is the son of former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal.