IOA President Narinder Batra has criticised the country's Sports Ministry ©Getty Images

Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President Narinder Batra has criticised the country's Sports Ministry for excluding 21 officials from the delegation for next month's Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.

In what represents the latest in a long-standing dispute between the two bodies, Batra accused the Sports Ministry of raising "unnecessary issues" regarding the Indian contingent for the Games here.

The Sports Ministry have since confirmed they will look into the issue, meaning the 21 extra officials could still be cleared to attend the event.

The 21 people were removed from the list by the Sports Ministry as part of a crackdown on officials supposedly enjoying "fun rides" by travelling to major events as part of the main delegation.

Under Commonwealth Games rules, the number of officials cannot exceed 33 per cent of the total amount of athletes.

India are sending a squad of 222 athletes and 74 support staff are therefore permitted.

Batra, who is also the President of the International Hockey Federation, claimed the Sports Ministry had refused to pay for the additional 21 people.

The IOA head insisted they will accompany the contingent at the expense of their respective national federations.

Narinder Batra made the comments at an official send-off event for the Indian team competing at Gold Coast 2018 ©Getty Images
Narinder Batra made the comments at an official send-off event for the Indian team competing at Gold Coast 2018 ©Getty Images

The Sports Ministry is expected to sign-off on the final Indian delegation imminently.

"The required officials beyond the number of 74 going with participating teams as part of the Indian contingent have been requested by me to be cleared at no cost to the Government," Batra said.

Batra's comments came after he used the official send-off for the Indian team which is due to compete at Gold Coast 2018 to slam the Sports Ministry.

"I don't know why the Sports Ministry is raising these unnecessary issues," he said. 

"We called these as extra officials but in fact these are not extra officials. 

"These days in every sport you don't need only the coaches but you need managers, doctors, physios and masseurs. 

"They contribute to the good performance of the players.

"If our performance goes down, the Sports Ministry should stand up and take responsibility. 

"If there are passengers in the squad, tell us."

A total of 215 competitors represented India at the 2014 edition of the event in Glasgow, where they finished fifth in the medals table with 64.