Chandigarh, December 16
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP from Sangrur, Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, on Monday raised the issue of Punjab's share in sports funding under the 'Khelo India' scheme in the Lok Sabha, accusing the Central Government of discriminating against Punjab's athletes.
Meet Hayer said that Punjab's athletes contribute the highest, 20%, to India's total medals. From every sport, in every international event, including the Olympics, Punjab's athletes bring medals for the country. Yet, it is extremely unfortunate that Punjab receives far less sports funding compared to other states.
He said that Punjab has a glorious history in sports. The state has given the country many legendary athletes in almost every international sport, whose records remain unbroken to this day. However, it is deeply disheartening that Punjab doesn't even feature in the top 10 states in terms of funding released under the 'Khelo India' scheme by the Government of India.
He added that in the last Olympics, 20 athletes from Punjab participated, including 10 players from the hockey team, who brought home a medal for India. Similarly, in the Asian Games, out of 661 participants, 58 athletes were from Punjab, out of which 20 won medals, accounting for 20% of the total medals.
Meet Hayer said it is remarkable that Punjab, with just 2% of India's total population, contributes 20% of the medals. He further stated that while they have no issue with the Central Government allocating ₹400 crore to states like Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, which win no medals, their demand is that Punjab should be funded under the 'Khelo India' scheme based on its performance. This would enable Punjab's athletes to perform even better and bring more medals for the country. He also urged the Central Government to adopt a fair approach to fund allocation.