After facing criticism, the Manohar lal Khattar Government in Haryana on Friday decided to put on hold a notification that required athletes employed by it to deposit one-third of their earnings from commercial and professional commitments to the State sports council.
To clarify his Government’s stand, Chief Minister Manohar lal took to Twitter. “I have asked for the relevant file of Sports Department to be shown to me and the notification dated April 30th to be put on hold till further orders,” he tweeted.
“We are proud of the immense contribution by our sportsperson & I assure them of a just consideration of all issues affecting them,” Manohar lal added.
The State Government drew flak from the sporting fraternity over its move to seek one-third earnings of its sportspersons who have Government jobs.
The notification issued by the Sports and Youth Welfare Department Principal Secretary Ashok Khemka had directed sportspersons from Haryana to hand over one third of their earnings from professional events and endorsement to the sports council.
"One third of the income of sportspersons from professional sports or commercial endorsement will be deposited with the Haryana State Sports Council. The money shall be used for development of sports in the state," the order signed by Khemka on April 27 read.
Though the move had drawn severe criticism from athletes and Opposition parties, Sports Minister Anil Vij as well as Ashok Khemka, a senior IAS officer, had defended it.
“There is nothing new in this decision. It is Government’s old rule. Under Rule 56, if a Government employee earns professional or commercial income, he has to deposit one third of the earning with the State Government. We had allowed (international boxer) Vijender Singh to play professionally,” Anil Vij told the media on Friday.
Ashok Khemka said that the notification had been issued after the state gave an assurance to the court that the Haryana Government would bring a policy vis-a-vis those who play professional sports.
“Normally, government employees are not allowed to play professional sports. The money will be used for the benefit of sportspersons only,” he said.
The athletes employed with the State Government include star boxers Vijender Singh and Akhil Kumar, both of whom are DSPs in state police, hockey captain Sardar Singh and wrestlers Geeta and Babita Phogat. Sardar, Geeta and Babita are also employed with the Haryana Police.
Reacting to the notification, star wrestler Geeta Phogat had said, "This new rule makes a mockery of sportspersons. There is no such rule for cricketers who earn much more than those from other sports. Cricketers make a lot of money from endorsement but those from other sports like boxing, kabaddi, and wrestling do not earn much."
"If we give up a third of our earnings, what will be left for usIJ" she asked.
International sportspersons like wrestler Sushil Kumar and others also questioned Haryana's notification.
“I have not yet seen the notification. I am only coming to know of it through media reports. I can only say that the athletes who compete in Olympic sports are already from very poor families," said double-Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar, who is with the Railways Sports Promotion Board.
"The government should make policies which encourage athletes. The athlete should be competing with a free mind, not with stress like this," he added.
Fellow wrestler and Olympic bronze-medallist Yogeshwar Dutt, also a Railways employee, also criticized the move. "God save us from such officials, who are taking senseless decisions like this. Their contribution to development of sports in Haryana has been zero but I am sure, they will play a big role in the decline of sports in the state," he tweeted.
"Now, athletes will move to other states and these officials will be responsible for this," he added.
Congress’ Rohtak MP Deepinder Singh Hooda said that the present government has made a mockery of the state's athlete-friendly policy.
Haryana Government had recently courted another controversy when it had decided to reduce the prize money for those Commonwealth Games medal winners from the state who were employed with other departments.
The felicitation function planned for the prize money distribution on April 26 had to be eventually cancelled indefinitely when the athletes threatened to boycott it.
Sportspersons from Haryana, including several women, have brought laurels to the country in the Olympics, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games in recent years.
As many as 22 of the 66 medals won by India at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia in April were won by sportspersons from Haryana.