Government aborts bid to have say in sports (Lead)

The union cabinet Thursday aborted its two-decade-old bid to have a say on sports issues by transferring the matter from the state list to the concurrent list.

With political consensus eluding the relevant constitution amendment bill, aimed at transferring the subject of sports from the state list of the constitution to the concurrent list, the central government Thursday decided to withdraw the crucial bill from the Rajya Sabha where it was introduced Nov 24, 1988.

Sports is currently in the state list.

The decision to withdraw the Constitution (61st Amendment) Bill, 1988 from the Rajya Sabha was taken in a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, said cabinet spokesperson Ambika Soni.

She said the cabinet in its meeting Aug 29, 1988 had approved the proposal to transfer the subject of sports from the state list to the concurrent list.

The main objective of the proposal was to ensure effective implementation of the National Sports Policy, 1984, especially broad-basing of sports, to regulate the conduct and management of sports and to achieve all round excellence in sports, she added.

Following the cabinet approval, the bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha Nov 24, 1988, she said adding that the bill had been pending in the upper house since then.

A bill not passed in the Rajya Sabha remains pending there and does not lapse - unlike a bill pending with the Lok Sabha that lapses with the expiry of the term of the house.

The proposal was discussed in the Conference of State Sports Ministers in September 1983 and at the all political parties meetings in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999, said Soni adding that the sports ministry had also written to all the chief ministers seeking their support, but the required support could not be obtained.

As the passage of the bill does not seem possible because of lack of support from the states, the cabinet has decided that it need not be pursued any more.

Last updated on Jul 2^nd, 2009 at 22:04 pm IST--IANS