The Rajya Sabha passed the National Anti-Doping Bill on Wednesday after four hours of debate. The Opposition CPI(M)’s amendment to send the Bill to a select committee was defeated in a voice vote. Last week, the Lok Sabha passed the Bill, which is to make the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) a statutory authority.
Introducing the Bill and later replying to the debate, Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur said India could carry out only about 6,000 tests a year at present and the proposed legislation would help increase the testing capacity significantly. He added that for holding any major international championship, the number of tests required could be as high as 10,000 a month. Samples from 16 countries were tested in laboratories located in India. “This legislation will help India to join the club of select countries like the U.S., China, Japan, and France, which have their own laws related to checking doping in sports,” Mr. Thakur added.
The Bill was intended to provide a statutory framework for the operation of the National Anti-Doping Agency, the National Dope Testing Laboratory and other dope testing laboratories and for creation of a National Board for Anti-Doping in Sports to strengthen anti-doping activities in sport, and to comply with the provisions of the said Convention, Mr. Thakur said.
Legendary athlete and nominated Member of Parliament P.T. Usha, intervening in the debate in her maiden speech, said all competitions should be brought under NADA and sought more focus on the field of sports medicine and science to help players recover from injuries. “We are yet to open our eyes to the doping in our country which was earlier confined only to the senior national level but has now reached the junior, college and district levels. It is a serious concern which needs to be addressed,” she said.
