Haryana Government has cancelled a state-level function to award sportspersons and decided to transfer the cash prize directly into their accounts.
The function was scheduled to be held in Panchkula on Monday. It was earlier announced that the Chief Minister Manohar Lal will give away cash prizes worth Rs 90 crore to about 3,000 sportspersons winning medals in national and international competitions at the function.
Haryana Sports Minister Anil Vij, who had given details about the event about 10 days ago, on Sunday justified the reason behind cancelling the function.
“Nearly 3,000 players were to be honoured and it was not possible to do so in a day,” the Minister said while talking to the mediapersons, “Therefore, we felt rather than postponing the event, it was more appropriate to deposit money into their bank accounts,” he added.
However, the State Government’s move to cancel the Panchkula function has evoked strong reaction from the opposition.
“The BJP government has not found time in the past four years to honour the players,” the Jannayak Janta Party tweeted.
“The outstanding players who brought laurels in various events during past three years were to be honoured at state-level function in Panchkula, but that function has now been cancelled. Is this how the players will get encouraged?,” it asked. JJP leader and the former MP Dushyant Chautala alleged that the State Government has no intention of honouring the sportspersons. Instead the government is insulting the sportspersons of the state. From last three years, such events are being cancelled, he added.
The athletes who have won medals at Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and Asian Para Games during the years 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 were to be honoured in the function. The sportspersons of senior and junior categories, who could not be honoured previously due to certain reasons, were also to be honoured in the function.