From Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi: Three North Eastern states will now be able to take part in the Archery Association of India elections following widespread criticism of their exclusion, as reported on Thursday.
Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Tripura, which are still provisional members of the association, will be allowed to vote in the general council elections of AAI slated for October 28, an official said.
“These states are still not permanent members, but since they have taken part in at least two national sports events, they have been allowed to vote in the council,” he told The Shillong Times.
Kiren Rijiju, who is a BJP politician and the current vice president of AAI, took the lead and protested against such blatant discrimination. An email from AAI on Wednesday night requested Rijiju as President of the Arunachal Pradesh unit of AAI to send representatives and participate in the elections.
Similar communications have gone to Mizoram and Tripura urging them to take part in the polls, the official said.
On the question of whether Meghalaya and the other remaining North East states are allowed to vote, the official replied in the affirmative, saying that these states were already allowed to vote in the AAI.
The national convenor of Clean Sports India BVP Rao, who is also vice president of the Archery Association of Assam and challenging incumbent president VK Malhotra, had shot off a letter to the association alleging that at least the three North East states have not been allowed to participate in the elections on the grounds that their membership is provisional, even as two other states – Himachal Pradesh and Uttarkhand – who were also provisional members have been allowed to vote.
“How is it possible for a president of Arunachal unit to be the vice president AAI, while the state body itself does not have a voting right?” Rao questioned.
Rao also questioned how Himachal and Uttarakhand, which were in the provisional list until recently, are now regular members.
The elections are for the posts of president, senior vice president, secretary general, treasurer and 15 other ofice bearers.
