The much-awaited Sports Fraud Bill, aimed at tackling the menace of illegal betting and corruption in sports, is ready to be sent to the Union Cabinet for its approval after which it will be presented in the Parliament, Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on Thursday.
Saying that his ministry has carefully examined and discussed the Prevention of Sporting Fraud Bill (PSFB), Sonowal tried to assure that the Bill will make sports free from all kinds of corruption.
“This (PSFB) has been discussed and examined properly and we have received all kinds of comments and suggestions from all the concerned Ministries, including the law Ministry. Now it is ready to be presented before the Union Cabinet,” Sonowal told reporters on the sidelines of the Asia Region — Commonwealth Youth Ministers Conference here on Thursday.
“This is for the betterment of sports and we want to make sports free from all sorts of corruption. We want to make it a holistic event. So this kind of initiative is absolutely required.
“Now it is up to the honourable Members of the Parliament. If, from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh, all the respective members of the parliament realize and they all contribute, then definitely we can reach a consensus (on the Bill),” he added.
The Bill — which was drafted by a committee headed by former chief justice Mukul Mudgal after the 2013 IPl spot-fixing scandal that rocked the nation — advocated a jail term of five years for the guilty and hefty monetary penalties amounting to five times the amount gained through fixing a match, with the minimum amount being `10 lakh.
‘BCCI a public body’
Asked about his statement in the Parliament that BCCI was not a Sports Federation recognised by the government, he said, “The Honourable Supreme Court has said that the BCCI is a public body, so the BCCI is accountable to the public.”
On being prodded whether the BCCI should come under the Right to Information Act, he said, “All I am saying is that the BCCI should be accountable to the public and its functioning transparent.”
‘Dutee a priority athlete’
While sprinter Dutee Chand, who has been allowed by the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) to resume her career, has received overwhelming support from everyone, Sonowal refused to commit on the issue of including her in the Target Olympic Podium (TOP) Scheme.
Sports Minister said that Dutee would continue to receive the Government support at the CAS but the decision on her inclusion in the TOP Scheme would be taken by the committee concerned.
“Dutee is a priority athlete for us…but, I don’t interfere in the selection of who should be included the the TOP Scheme or not. There is a committee made up of eminent sportspersons which selects athletes to be included in the Scheme,” he added.