A day after Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar felicitated medal winners in the recently held 19th Asian Games in China, Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda demanded an increase in the reward of the medal winners.
He demanded that the government should give Rs 5 crore to gold medalists, Rs 3 crore to silver medal winners and Rs 2 crore to those who win bronze medals for the country.
He said players should also get appointment to higher posts like deputy superintendent of police like was done during the previous Congress government.
Hooda said about 750 players were appointed to higher posts under the sports policy during the Congress government, but as soon as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power, this trend was stopped.
“Even neighbouring states like Uttar Pradesh are following the policy of the Congress and appointing its medal winners to the post of DSP. In such a situation, the question arises that does the BJP-JJP government not want to give proper respect to the players due to political hatred or negativity,” he questioned.
“The Congress government of Haryana had a policy to promote young talent, which was appreciated all over the world. Sports aptitude tests (SPAT) were started at the school level to hone talents and stadiums were built in every village,” he said.
Hooda said as soon as the BJP came to power, it abolished the 3 per cent sports quota given to sportspersons in jobs by the Congress government, by limiting it to a few departments.
“All this clearly shows that the present government has left no stone unturned in discouraging the players of Haryana. Despite this, the players of the state are still bringing glory to the country on the world stage, due to their hard work and passion. The BJP-JJP government should also leave the negativity and give medal winners their due respect,” he added.