He further slammed the ruling party for allegedly denying pension payments to over 75,000 senior citizens in Haryana on “ridiculous” reasons.
AAP national media chief Danda said in an interview with the media that Haryana has always been the home of sports, and most of the athletes who raised the national tricolor flag at the Olympics, Commonwealth and Asian Games came from this soil.
“But today these players are asking whether the value of their hard work and medals is limited to the applause they receive on an electoral platform,” Danda said.
He attacked Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and said the players bleed and sweat all day on the field and their parents earn a living through hard work and try to help them win medals.
Danda alleged that the state government had not paid dietary allowances to the 37,000 athletes practicing at sports crèches in the state in the past 10 months.
He said the purpose of the sports nursery was to provide grassroots athletes with good training and nutrition so that they could compete at national and international levels.
He also claimed that the coaches who train these players have not been paid for 10 months.
“Should players focus on meal planning or game preparation?”
am admi party (AAP) leader questioned.
Dhanda claimed that the state government closes nurseries for two months every year. “Is there any athlete who takes two months off to prepare for an international medal?” he asked.
On the alleged suspension of pension payments to over 75,000 senior citizens, he said: “If farmers receive Rs 1.50 or Rs 2 lakh in their crop accounts, they are told that their income is Rs 3 lakh and therefore they cannot receive pension. This means that the Nayab government considers farmers selling crops worth Rs 3 lakh to be rich,” he claimed.
He alleged that in some cases pensions were stopped by citing the total family income in the Parivar Pehchan Patra (family identity card) and in some cases due to mismatch in names or ages.
He added that many places consider the income of the entire family, although the income of seniors is not linked to the income of the family.
The AAP leader said hundreds of senior citizens and women were queuing up at government offices across Haryana to inquire why their pensions had been cut.