The Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) received a double blow with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) handing it a suspension for an internal squabble and the Union Sports Ministry issuing a show cause notice over the alleged ‘poor conduct’ of the 15th National para athletics championship in Ghaziabad last month.
In a letter dated April 15, the IPC said, “the situation in the PCI has been chaotic for several years now, which is mostly due to individual conflicts at the national level between different groups and persons.”
The IPC said it had tried to help the PCI in the past. “Unfortunately, to this day, it seems that a lot of unresolved conflicts are still undermining the development of the Paralympic movement in India, and this situation does not bring any positive outcome for the athletes.
“We therefore have taken the decision to suspend your organisation until we have enough guarantee that an understanding between various parties has been found at the national level, and that a sustainable solution has been worked out for the long-term benefit and development of the athletes,” IPC CEO Xavier Gonzalez said.
The sports ministry said there were various complaints regarding the poor conduct of the Ghaziabad meet, and the Sports Authority of India (SAI) found in its enquiry that besides the lack of other provisions, “the venue did not have facilities for the conduct of a national championship and also lacked allied facilities required for differently-abled athletes such as ramps, disabled-friendly toilets and lodging.”
The ministry said a grant of Rs. 401.84 lakh had been provided to PCI for the year 2014-15 towards coaching camps, participation in international sports events, including Para-Asian Games, and conduct of the national championship.
It asked why the Government should not withdraw its recognition from the National federation.
Following allegations of poor conduct of the meet, the PCI executive committee had suspended its president Rajesh Tomar and promised to start criminal and civil proceedings against him.
