Bhupinder Hooda slams Haryana govt for being unfair with athletes

Chandigarh, Sep 4 (IANS) Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda on Friday extended congratulations to the state's medal-winning athletes who have secured appointments to state civil and police posts.  

He said these athletes had to wage an eight-year-long legal battle to claim their due rights. “The BJP government made every possible effort to deny them their positions, dignity, and entitlements. However, the Punjab and Haryana High Court's verdict, ordering their appointment to HCS and HPS, has dealt a stinging rebuke to the BJP government. Furthermore, the court has imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the government,” the two-time Chief Minister said.

He said this matter has once again exposed the BJP's anti-sports and anti-athlete mindset. “It is not just athletes; this government harbours hostility towards Haryana's employees, contractual staff, and unemployed youth struggling for jobs. This is precisely why, despite court rulings from the High Court to the Supreme Court, upholding the regularisation policy formulated by the Congress government, the BJP administration remains unwilling to regularise protesting sanitation workers and guest teachers,” Leader of Opposition Hooda said in a statement.

“The government is also refusing to honour the promises made to Kaushal Nigam (skill corporation) employees. The BJP government has hardly managed to complete any recruitment process without facing stern court directives,” he pointed out.

Hooda recalled that during the Congress government's tenure, the ‘Padak Lao, Pad Pao’ (win a medal, get a post) policy was introduced to promote sports and athletes in the state. Under this policy, provisions were made to appoint medal-winning athletes to prestigious roles, including Class I and Class II positions, as well as direct appointments as DSPs.

“This policy yielded tremendous results in Haryana, with our athletes bringing glory to the nation on the global stage. Athletes from Haryana outperformed those from other states in almost every discipline. However, the BJP could not tolerate this and altered the rules governing the appointment of athletes to high-ranking posts like DSP,” Hooda added.

--IANS

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