95 officials to accompany 84 Paris Paralympics participants to look after their "special needs"
New Delhi (PTI): The 84-member Indian contingent taking part in the Paris Paralympics beginning on August 28 will be accompanied by 95 officials as many participants will have their personal coaches and escorts travelling with them to take care of their special needs.
The total strength of the Indian contingent will thus have 179 members.
Out of the 95, as many as 77 are team officials, nine are contingent medical officials and another nine contingent officials.
India is sending the largest number of participants in the Paris Paralympics (August 28 to September 8) with 84 athletes competing in 12 sports. In the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021, India was represented by 54 members in nine sports.
"Considering the special needs of some para athletes, personal coaches have been included in the contingent. However, they will provide necessary services to other players as per the directions of the Chef de Mission/team head coach," the ministry said while clearing the contingent.
"The participation of the entire contingent (including sportspersons, contingent officials, coaches) except that of Chef de Mission and one team manager for para badminton will be at cost to government."
The likes of javelin thrower Sumit Antil and shooter Avani Lekhara, who would be looking to defend their Tokyo Paralympics gold, are among those who will be having personal coaches.
"In any para sports event, the participants need more support staff like personal coaches and escorts than able-bodied competitors. So, it is nothing new to have more support staff in para sports," a team official said.
The para-athletics team, which is the largest with 38 competitors, also has most number of personal coaches and escorts.
All the members of the contingent except for the CDM and team manager for the para badminton team will get USD 50 per day out of pocket allowance "as per required and actual period of stay during the Games which will be inclusive of acclimatisation and training period plus 2 days to and fro journey time".
Some of the officials will be staying outside the Games Village.
Paralympic Committee of India president Devendra Jhajharia, who left for Paris on Sunday with a large contingent, including CDM Satya Prakash Sangwan, told PTI on Saturday that he will be staying outside the Games Village "to look after all the athletes" as some will be competing outside Paris.
Jhajharia had said that India would be looking to win more than 25 medals, including double-digit gold, at the Paris Paralympics.
India had won 19 medals (5 gold, 8 silver, 6 bronze) at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021, which is the highest ever till now.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
