BAI fixes age and tenure for its office bearers

New Delhi, April 28 (IANS) Falling in line with the government's Sports Code, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) has amended its constitution by fixing the term and the age limit of its office bearers.

The sports ministry has asked the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the National Sports Federations (NSFs) to be on the same page by adopting the Sports Code ahead of next month's meeting with the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

IOC has invited the sports ministry and the suspended IOA to prepare a roadmap to lift the suspension slapped on India.

The BAI, at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) here Saturday, amended its constitution by fixing the age and tenure for the office bearers in line with the Sports Code.

BAI fixed the tenure for its president for a maximum of three terms, with or without break, of four years each. The secretary general and treasurer can hold office for a maximum of two terms, with or without a break, of four years each. The maximum age limit of any office bearer has been fixed at 70.

"We had the AGM yesterday (Saturday) and there were amendments made to the constitution in respect to the tenure and age of the office bearers -- meaning the president, secretary general and treasurer. We have decided to keep the age limit for our office bearers to 70," BAI president Akhilesh Das Gupta told IANS.

"As far as the president is concerned, we have decided to limit the tenure to a maximum of three terms, each term for four years, making it a maximum of 12 years, with or without any break. The secretary general and treasurer can hold their posts for a maximum of two terms of four years each, again with or without any break, making it a maximum of eight years," he added.

Das Gupta, a Rajya Sabha member from the Bahujan Samaj Party, told IANS that henceforth only a member of the executive can contest for the post of president and secretary general, which was in accordance with the IOA constitution.

"There is one more amendment. Earlier anybody from outside could contest for the post of president and secretary general. Now the candidate has to be a member of the executive otherwise he/she cannot contest. This is in line with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). They have the same provision," said Das Gupta.