IT is imperative that Manohar Singh Gill returns as the minister of sports in the new Dr Manmohan Singh Cabinet. Gill has proved that he is a doer.
A somnolent ministry, directionless and rudderless, was suddenly metamorphosed by the former chief election commissioner. The problem with Gill’s predecessor for the portfolio Mani Shankar Aiyar, who I used to know well when he was petroleum minister, was that he wasn’t keen on the ‘hand me down’ ministry after Sunil Dutt’s demise and his own unceremonious exit from oil and gas. From the petroleum pasha conducting mini OPEC type summits, going on road shows in the energy capitals of the world and generally being slapbang in the middle of the oil and gas great game due to the super spike in oil prices, Mani sulked because he was stripped off his portfolio. Mani had his hands full battling PSU chieftains like Subir Raha of ONGC and Prashanto Banerjee of GAIL, but he was combative enough to stay in the game. But only just. For his propensity to ‘jaw jaw’ got the better of him.
His demotion from the oil mandarin in Shastri Bhawan to a lowly sports minister was a big setback for this extremely intelligent and erudite man. And I don’t think he ever got around to accepting this. But that is not the thrust of this article. Gill was drafted in to the sports ministry against this backdrop, while Murli Deora got petroleum after never having worked in government. Gill has used his bureaucratic background in good measure and with good effect. First he tried to come to grips with the lawlessness in the Indian Hockey Federation. When IHF secretary general K Jyothikumaran was struck by a telly sting, MS Gill launched a broadside at long serving IHF boss KPS Gill, asking him to quit immediately. He wanted this done so that faith could be restored in the hockey establishment. And this happened soon after the disaster in Chile where India failed to qualify for the Olympics. In many ways it was a double whammy for Indian hockey, first the slide and then the bribe. Soon the IOA supreme Suresh Kalmadi disbanded the IHF. KPS Gill was ousted and an ad hoc body set up to run the affairs. But bickering has persisted and Randhir Singh, unhappy with the way things were being run in the ad hoc body also quit in disgust. Thus raising Cain.
But that again is not the subject matter of this treatise. MS Gill is. He has been quite alive to the Commonwealth Games preparations, its security overhang, training and of course the building out of the infrastructure in time for the event in October. So, now for continuity, he should be allowed to oversee affairs. But his defining moment came when he unilaterally asked the government not to send the cricket team to Pakistan for the bilateral tour in the aftermath of the 26/11 attacks earlier this year. The government accepted Gill’s line and the tour was cancelled. When the Sri Lankan side was attacked in Lahore, Gill stood vindicated. That perhaps has been the subliminal message emanating from Gill’s decision making. Whenever he has taken a stand, he has been proved right.
A sports minister making an impression is unheard of in this country. When Tennis Australia decided to boycott the Davis Cup tie in Chennai, Gill once again stepped into the breach. When I spoke to an angry Gill on his return from Australia, he was vehement in castigating the hypocritical Aussie attitude. The fur was flying and Gill was letting it rip. Tennis Australia finally refused to come to India when the ITF turned down its appeal. India was given a walkover.
And then came the crowning glory. Gill targeted IPL’s controversial SMS game 6UP in Chennai stoking fires over betting and gambling. Once again, true to form, he took on the BCCI and came out firing. IPL organizers actually withdrew the game under pressure. Gill was clear that the SMS game could raise the spectre of match fixing all over again.
Gill had won big time and this was only days before the final phase of polling was to be completed. Here is a man who will be required to play an important role in the run up to the staging of the Commonwealth Games. There is still a lot to do and someone like Gill has shown intent, determination and single mindedness. This needs to be rewarded. He has to clean the Augean stables in the IHF and the ad hoc body created to replace it. Factionalism, nepotism and favoritism are the very bane of Indian sport. These things need to be taken out along with the other garbage floating around.
A man like Gill who has shown that he means business will be the right choice for this portfolio, which in any case nobody must be hankering for. The Beijing Olympics provided India with a spanking new platform. A platform for change and a new beginning. Medals in shooting, boxing and wrestling, near misses in badminton, tennis and archery. It is an edifice that we need to build on. The Commonwealth Games in Delhi will provide the right foundation for this generational shift in Indian sport. This is to be followed almost immediately by the Asian Games in Guangzhou. So, this is as a good a time as any to go for structural changes in Indian sport.
MS Gill takes a stand. I like that. Politicians don’t often do that. Gill should be persisted with. He should be allowed to do what he thinks is right for Indian sport. So far all calls taken by him have hit bulls eye.
