New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the sports ministry Thursday got into a spat over official forms for nominating cricketers for the Arjuna and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awards this year.
“We wish to clarify that unlike every year, the BCCI has not received any forms for nominating cricketers for the Arjuna and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awards of the Government of India,” said BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale.
“It has been the practice of the sports ministry to send the forms well in advance to the BCCI to nominate in the given format, which includes the players’ acceptance and the BCCI’s recommendation,” he added.
The sports ministry, however, said that the BCCI and all other sports federations were informed over telephone in mid-April that they have to send the nominations by April 30.
Rahul Bhatnagar, joint secretary of ministry of youth affairs and sports, in a note circulated to media claimed that BCCI officials were even spoken to on the matter but did not get any nomination from them.
In a complete contradiction to Bhatnagar’s claim, according to an earlier ministry release, the proforma applications and circular seeking names for Arjuna, and other important awards, were sent to all NSFs and BCCI’s name did not figure in the list.
Since BCCI is not a NSF, they did not get it. BCCI CAO Ratnakar Shetty had also said that they did not receive it this time, although they were getting it regularly in the past.
“The ministry sent letters to all sports federations, state governments, SAI and sports promotion boards on 28th January, 2012 seeking nominations for Arjuna, Dronacharya, Khel Ratna Awards etc by 30 April, 2012 including BCCI. These were duly dispatched to all these organizations/entities including BCCI,” Bhatnagar said.
“Some nominations in respect of cricket coaches have also been received from state governments,” Bhatnagar said. (Agencies)