Hours after the BJP slammed the Delhi Government over AAP’s mistreatment, Commonwealth Games 2022 Bronze medalist Divya Kakran addressed a Press conference on Thursday to reveal that by 2017, she had earned around 58 medals for Delhi. She said she decided to play for Uttar Pradesh in 2018 since the Delhi Government did not provide any financial assistance to her.
Kakran, shared how she came from a humble background and needed money for survival. She said there were times when she would have no money even to travel for the competitions. “I would sit next to train toilets and travel in general bogie for competitions. The Delhi Government never helped us. I started wrestling from Uttar Pradesh in 2018,” she said. CWG Bronze medallist said in 2019 the UP Government gave me the Rani Laxmi Bai award. “In 2020 they gave me a life-long pension. On Wednesday, they announced Rs 50 lakh & a gazetted officer rank post.
“The UP Government has helped me, even the Haryana Government did. But Delhi never came to help,” Kakran added. Earlier, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla accused the AAP Government in Delhi of insulting "women and sportspersons" by allegedly targeting CWG medal-winner Kakran.
He alleged that the AAP social media team trolled Kakran and its leader Saurabh Bharadwaj "insultingly" asked her to show a certificate after she complained about not being given any financial benefits from the Government-led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Meanwhile, sources in the AAP Government said Kakran had never applied for financial assistance.
“Those players who had applied for assistance were provided aid every year by the Government. Kakran had too received aid till 2017. But after that she started playing from Uttar Pradesh,” said the sources.
The controversy began when Indian wrestler Kakran stated that despite living in Delhi for the past 20 years, she did not receive any prize money from the State Government. “Heartfelt thanks to the Chief Minister of Delhi for congratulating me on the medal. I have a request for you that I have been living in Delhi for the last 20 years and have been practising my sports wrestling, but so far I have not been given any kind of reward money from the state government nor any help has been given to me," Kakran tweeted.
As the AAP Government started to get criticism over the allegations, its MLA Bharadwaj tried to claim that Kakran never represented Delhi.
“Sister the whole country is proud of you. But I don't remember that you play for Delhi. You have always been playing for Uttar Pradesh. But the player is the country...” he tweeted.
Maybe I am wrong, but when I searched, I found that you have always been playing for Uttar Pradesh, not from Delhi state. Today the whole country is proud of you. I pray to God that you go ahead,” said Bhardwaj, while sharing news articles that claimed Kakran represented UP.
In reply to the August 9 tweet of Bharadwaj, Kakran produced certificates to prove she had represented Delhi between 2011 and 2017.