NSC has taken the decision to dissolve NAAA after athlete Surya Maya Rai didn´t return home from Japan after participating in the Asian Athletics Championship. NSC has also charged the NAAA General Secretary Rabi Rajkarnikar of “human trafficking” and not conducting general election for nine years.[break]
However, NSC Member Secretary Yuvaraj Lama´s decision to appoint Shrestha in the new committee also drew controversy as Shrestha has earned disrepute in the sports fraternity for overstaying in Germany.
Shrestha, who was a staffer in NSC, had been to Germany in 1985 for higher education in sports for 18 months on the recommendation of NSC but returned home after 15 years. “After 18-month course, I wanted to pursue higher education and Member Secretary Sharad Chandra Shah has given me the approval,” said Shrestha.
Shah admitted that he had given approval to Shrestha. “I had given him approval to study for one-and-a-half years,” said Shah to Republica. However, Shrestha had returned Nepal after 15 years.
Shrestha had also stood as a guarantor at the German Embassy for Nirmala Bharati in 2006 but the athlete didn´t return home. “I stood as a guarantor as a sports lover but she betrayed me. I´ve nothing to do with her disappearance in Germany,” said Shrestha.
“I didn´t get any evidence against him at the NSC and I came to know that he has been working for the development of Nepali athletics,” said Member Secretary Lama. “I don´t know much about the members of the new committee as I don´t know them personally. It´s a sort of experiment. This ad hoc committee should prove its caliber within 60 days,” he added.
Likewise, Lama´s decision to appoint Diwakar Lal Amatya as Vice-president is also not less controversial. Amatya was fired by NSC in 1992 on the charge of producing fake signatures of then minister Bal Bahadur KC and member secretary Sharad Bhattarai to not include Nepali team in Pune International Marathon. Amatya was later appointed as sports expert in Sports Academy Nepal (SAN) by then Member Secretary Jeevan Ram Shrestha five years ago.
“After I heard rumors about Amatya, I checked the documents at NSC. I found that he was appointed in SAN as an expert and that means NSC had given him clean chit,” claimed Member Secretary Lama.
The newly formed committee has four vice presidents, namely Man Bahadur Neupane, veteran athlete Baikuntha Manandhar, Raj Bhagat Pradhananga and Amatya.
Sunil Rajbanshi is the general secretary of the new committee, Narayan Pradhan the new secretary and Mohan Nepal is the treasurer. Sushil Narsingh Rana, Arjun Bahadur Pandit Chhetri, Kishor Lal Amatya, Dhanbir Chaudhary, Padma Chaudhary, Kumar Shrestha, Chhabi Lal Thapa, Tejendra Thapa, Radha Krishna Bista, Hari Rokaya and Deepak Ranjit are the members in the 19-member committee.
“All the members in the new committee are from athletics,” claimed Lama. However, newly-appointed vice president Neupane is in the current NSC board representing Nepal Judo Association. “Athletics is the father of all other sports and being a judo player Neupane is also an athlete,” argued Lama.
Newly-appointed President Shrestha claimed that his team includes sports-educated people and they will prove their caliber. “We need international affiliation but I´m hopeful the previous committee will help us get it and develop Nepali athletics,” said Shrestha.
Rabi Rajkarnikar, general secretary of the previous committee, said he has not received any official information about reshuffle. “NSC didn´t hesitate to accuse us of involvement in human trafficking but I´m surprised to hear some names in the so called new committee. I´d to say nothing about them, all athletes know them well,” said Rajkarnikar.
Meanwhile, NSC Member Secretary Lama said that state will fight against the international sports agencies that do not recognize newly formed committee. “If international federations do not recognize the new committee, the state will fight for it,” said Lama. “Sports associations are not anyone´s inheritance,” he added.
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