Union Minister of Steel Chaudhary Birender Singh has taken on Haryana’s BJP government for wanting to reduce the award money to be given to state’s those Commonwealth Games medallists who also get cash awards from other central organisations like Railways where they are employed.
“This thinking is wrong, it’s not rational. I oppose it,” said Birender Singh told mediapersons Monday. A felicitation ceremony was planned in Panchkula on April 26 to honour outstanding sportspersons for their performance in the recently concluded recent Commonwealth Games, but was cancelled on April 25. According to Haryana Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Anil Vij, the event was cancelled because some players had opposed the state’s sports policy. Under the sports policy of the government, the admissible prize money to players is to be given after deducting the amount paid to them by the department or agency where they are working.
Anil Vij had earlier told The Indian Express that the issue of prize money would be now discussed at an informal meeting of the state Cabinet, which is held every Tuesday. However, Vij now claims that they have not yet decided in which meeting of the Cabinet this issue would be discussed. “We are not in hurry,” said Vij.
Birender Singh said, “The demand of the sportspersons is absolutely correct. It is our duty to honour them if they do something great. The state should not have any concern about what others give them. If we (state) give them good jobs, then why would they go to other places like Railways.”
“Who has suggested such an idea (of detection from just) Rs 2-4 crore meant for sportspersons in a state which has (annual) budget of more than Rs 1.15 lakh crore. I have suggested our state government to reconsider their sports policy and they would correct it,” said Singh, the former Finance Minister of Haryana. Singh’s wife Prem Lata is a BJP MLA from Uchana Kalan constituency of Jind district.