Haryana sports minister Anil Vij hits back at Manu Bhaker after shooter reminds promise of Rs 2 Cr
New Delhi, Jan 05: Haryana sports minister Anil Vij has slammed India's shooting sensation Manu Bhaker for criticising the state government over a promise of a cash prize for her Youth Olympics gold medal in October 2018.
Vij stated that Bhaker should have communicated with the sports ministry first before taking her complaint to social media and criticise the Haryana government further. Also, he clarified that the money promised by him will be duly paid to 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.
"There should be some sense of discipline in players. Bhaker should feel sorry for creating this controversy. She has a long way to go. She should focus on her game only," Vij tweeted on Friday.
Earlier on Friday, Bhaker posted screenshots of Vij's tweet in which he had promised her cash award to the tune of Rs 2 crore on behalf of the state government. "Sir Please confirm if it is correct... Or just Jumla (sic)," Bhaker wrote on Twitter. After Bhaker became the first Indian shooter to win gold at Youth Olympics, Vij had tweeted, "Congratulations to Manu Bhaker for winning shooting gold in Youth Olympics. Haryana government will give a cash prize of Rs 2 crore to Manu Bhaker for winning this gold. Previous governments used to pay Rs 10 lakh only."
The shooter also felt that someone in the Haryana government has been playing "games" with the money that was to be awarded to the medallists.
As per the state government's changed policy, which came into effect before the Youth Olympics, Rs 2 crore was marked for the gold medallists, Rs 1.25 crore for silver medallists and Rs 80 lakh for the bronze winners. Before that, the YOG medallists would get Rs 10 lakh, Rs 7.5 lakh and Rs 5 lakh in descending order.
However, the government again revised its policy last December and brought the amount down to Rs 1 crore for gold, Rs 65 lakh for silver and Rs 40 lakh for the bronze medallists.
Bhaker's father Ram Kishan Bhaker, who is a chief engineer in the Merchant Navy, said moves such as this can break the morale of athletes.
"Far from motivating sportspersons, such moves will break their morale. She is yet to get the promised cash award and now they have revised the policy again. I really hope enough thought is given before they finalise something. Otherwise, it can be detrimental to an athlete's career," Bhaker senior told PTI.
Bhaker had a phenomenal year in 2018 in which she won the Commonwealth Games gold in Gold Coast, a month after winning gold in the 10m air pistol individual and team events at the ISSF World Cup in Guadalajara, which was her maiden appearance in a senior meet.
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Women BJP MLAs protest against opposition in UP assembly premises
Lucknow (PTI): Women BJP MLAs held a protest in the Vidhan Bhawan complex before the one-day special session of Uttar Pradesh assembly, slamming the opposition for defeating the passage of a bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Law, in the Lok Sabha.
This followed another demonstration by Samajwadi Party MLAs, who alleged that the BJP was misleading public in the name of women's reservation.
The women BJP legislators assembled in front of Chaudhary Charan Singh's statue in the assembly premises, holding banners inscribed with the slogan "Insult to Matrushakti (women's power), India will not tolerate it". The protesting members entered the main hall of Vidhan Bhawan carrying the banners.
Participating in the protest, the state Minister for Women Welfare and Child Development, Baby Rani Maurya, told reporters that all opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, had opposed the women's reservation, a stance for which they would have to pay a heavy political price.
"On this issue, all of us women stand united. We will ensure that we secure our reservation," she said.
BJP MLA Ketki Singh remarked that their protest represents the collective outrage of millions of women across the state.
Singh asserted that the opposition has betrayed women by creating hurdles in the path of women's reservation. The current demonstration is merely the beginning, and very soon, women from every street, intersection and household will join the protest movement, she said.
Minister Vijaylakshmi Gautam said, "We strongly condemn the despicable act committed by the Samajwadi Party and the Congress in an attempt to hold back 'half the population' (women). Their action was directed against the very bill that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had introduced to empower and strengthen Nari Shakti (women's power), and which he strived to pass expeditiously."
Uttar Pradesh assembly is holding a one-day special session on Thursday. During the session, the government is set to move a censure motion against the opposition parties over their failure to pass the Constitution Amendment Bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Act, in the Lok Sabha.
