An old tweet of ace Indian shooter Manu Bhaker went viral on Sunday after she won a historic bronze medal at the Paris Olympics.
The tweet was a reminder to then Haryana Sports Minister Anil Vij about the Rs 2 crore-prize money promise he made to for in his congratulatory message following her gold medal at the 2018 Youth Olympics.
“Congratulations to Manu Bhaker for winning shooting gold in the Youth Olympics…The Haryana government will give a cash prize of ₹2 crore to Manu Bhaker for winning this gold. Previous governments used to pay ₹10 lakh only,” he had stated.
However, when the prize money was not disbursed months after the announcement, Bhaker took to social media to question Vij, asking if it was merely a “jumla” — a term often associated with Prime Minister Modi’s purported promise of Rs 15 lakh to every Indian citizen in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, meaning a gimmick.
“Sir Please confirm if it is correct… Or just Jumla (sic),” Bhaker wrote, sharing the screenshot of the BJP leader’s tweet in which he announced the reward.
Sir Please confirm if it is correct… Or just Jumla… @anilvijminister pic.twitter.com/AtxpLKBSYV
— Manu Bhaker (@realmanubhaker) January 4, 2019
In response, Vij criticised Bhaker for making the issue public and demanded an apology from her. “Manu Bhaker should have first confirmed it from the Sports Deptt. before going to public domain. It is disgusting to denounce a State Govt which is giving highest awards in the Country. Bhaker will will will get 2 crores as tweeted by me and as per notification at that time,” he said.
He further added, “There should be some sense of decipline in players. Bhaker should feel sorry for creating this controversy. She has a long way to go. She should focus on her game only.”
Following Bhaker’s Olympic medal victory, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi revisited Vij’s response, criticizing him on social media. “Haryana Government Minister on Manu Bhaker in 2019. Shamelessly will now seek to take credit any minute for her bronze win at the #ParisOlympics2024,” she tweeted.