Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said he will review the notification. (Express Photo)
Prominent sportspersons as well as Opposition leaders in Haryana on Friday lashed out at the state government for the April 30 notification asking sportspersons employed in any department of the state government or any other body controlled by the state to “deposit one-third of the income earned by them from professional sports or commercial endorsements with the Haryana State Sports Council”.
“If the state government is really serious over development of sports, it should increase its budget as there is need for better coaches and trainers at the district level. The latest decision should be immediately withdrawn,” said INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala Chautala. Former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda of the Congress, who is also the leader of Opposition in the state, said that the CM and the sports minister should tender an apology to the sportspersons for “insulting them”. “The latest policy is a double whammy for the sportspersons; one their salaries will be deducted for the leave taken for participating in the sports or the functions related to the sports, second one-third of their prize money will be deducted,” Hooda said.
Wrestler Babita Phogat said, “This decision is 100 per cent wrong. First, the players who won medals in Commonwealth Games were told about the deduction in prize money. And they are still waiting for the rewards. Now, the government has issued this notification. The players should prepare themselves for Asian Games or think about such matters? It seems that the government is seeing players as a burden. When we win medals, the same state government portrays us as heroes and use our posters for their promotion. A player playing in a league run by the federation already gives income tax on whatever amount he earns.” “This decision will certainly take Haryana backward in sports,” said Babita, a gold medallist in 2014 CWG and silver medallist in 2018 CWG. She is a sub-inspector in Haryana Police.
Babita’s elder sister Geeta Phogat, who won a gold in 2010 CWG, tweeted, “We had seen governments in Haryana promoting sports, but this is the first time we are seeing a government which focuses on ending sports and sportspersons in the state.” The 30-year-old wrestler Geeta, who was one of the 16 gold medalists from Haryana in the 2010 CWG winners, is a DSP in Haryana police. “When the state government approaches medal winners to be brand ambassadors for a government scheme, do they pay anything to them? PM Narendra Modi talks about movies being made on sportspersons in his speeches, but now the sportspersons have to deposit money to the state for the money they get for a movie or any endorsement deal,” said an Olympian and CWG medal winner, who is employed in a government but did not wish to be quoted.
Earlier this year, the Haryana Sports and Youth Department received 307 applications in the outstanding sportspersons category for jobs in various departments of the state government. The applications will be processed under the new criteria laid by the new sports policy. In the last decade, players like 2008 Beijing Olympics bronze medallist Vijender Singh, 2007 ICC World T-20 Indian team member Joginder Sharma, Indian hockey captain Sardar Singh, apart from more than 18 players, have directly been appointed as DSP with Haryana Police.
While Vijender has turned professional and trains in the UK and India, Sharma played for Chennai Super Kings in IPL from 2009 to 2011. Sardar Singh too has been playing in the Hockey India League run by the national federation, apart from wrestlers like Geeta Phogat and Babita Phogat playing for their respective teams in Pro Wrestling League.
Currently, there are more than five professional leagues approved by the respective national federations happening in India, including Indian Premier League (Cricket), Hockey India League (Hockey), Pro Kabaddi league, Premier Badminton League, Indian Super League and I League (Football), Pro Wrestling League (PWL) apart from the proposed Indian Volleyball League with more than 15 Haryana players employed with Haryana Government playing in such leagues.