New Delhi, Apr 4: Indian Olympic Association (IOA) acting president Vijay Kumar Malhotra Monday informed the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that the autonomy of National Sports Federations (NSF) in the country is in danger owing to the intransigent attitude of the government.
The union sports ministry has taken a rigid stand on the autonomy of the NSFs, Malhotra wrote in a letter to IOC president Jacques Rogge.
He sought the directions from the IOC to end the present logjam at the earliest so that Indian athletes are able to participate in international events under their national flag. The IOC suspended Indian Olympic Association last December for not complying with the Olympic Charter.
"We await your early response so that a date is fixed for the meeting at the IOC headquarters," said Malhotra.
"We appreciate your concern for an early solution to the problem but we are rather constrained to say that the sports ministry is bent on destroying the autonomy of the IOA and the NSFs."
"While we endorsed your move for a dialogue involving the government, it has gone ahead and constituted a committee to re-draft the controversial sports bill, which is in total breach of the Olympic Charter."
Malhotra claimed that "the government has not taken us into confidence on any count and has not shown any interest in respecting your directive to find a common ground to end this deadlock."
