25-year-old divyang chess player Malika Handa lashed out at the Punjab government for its inability to fulfil the promise of a job and cash reward on Sunday. Malika posted on Twitter that during a meeting with the state Sports Minister Pargat Singh on December 31, she was informed that the government could not help her as there was no policy for deaf players.
I am very feeling Hurt
— Malika Handa🇮🇳🥇 (@MalikaHanda) January 2, 2022
31 dec I met sports minister of Punjab @PargatSOfficial
Now He said punjab Govt can not give job and Not cash award accept to (Deaf sports) because they do not have policy for deaf sports.
Cc: @CHARANJITCHANNI @sherryontopp @RahulGandhi @rhythmjit @ANI pic.twitter.com/HhYEWbGJ7E
She wrote she was feeling hurt. She met the sports minister of Punjab on December 31. He said the Punjab govt could not give job or cash awards because they do not have a policy for deaf sports.
She wrote, “I am only asking why was the reward announced. I wasted 5 years on the Congress government. They fooled me. They do not care about deaf sports. The district Congress leaders had promised to support me during these 5 years but nothing has happened till now. Why is the Punjab government doing this?”
Malika, who has won gold and two silver medals at the international level, was promised a job and cash reward by the former sports minister of Punjab. She added she was only asking for what was promised to her by the former sports minister. She alleged that the state govt had fooled her and accused them of not caring about the deaf sportsperson. She said the district Congress members also told showed their support, but nothing had happened in five years. “Why, why Punjab govt doing this ?” she added.
Suresh Handa, her father, was quoted by Tribune. He said, “Malika is very upset today. My son Atul Handa and I had accompanied her to the office of Director Sports, but she almost got a refusal. My daughter has been playing the game for the past 8-10 years and has been bringing medals for the country and the state just with a hope that these would fetch her job offer just like other Olympians and para-athletes.”
He further added for the past 2-3 years, she was told to complete her graduation to get a good government job. She approached the Director of Sports as she had completed her graduation. “She got the reply that there was no policy yet in the state to offer jobs to hearing-impaired athletes. This is the fag end of the tenure of the present government. If they have not made a policy till now, they will be able to make it even in the next three months. My daughter has lost all hopes, and it is really difficult to convince her at this stage,” he added.
DPS Kharbanda, Director Sports, Punjab, said, “Malika came to me with her father and brother. They discussed her case with me for good 30-40 minutes. I told them that the government has a policy for able-bodied players and para-athletes (arms and legs handicap) but none of the other 21 types of disabilities, which includes blindness, hearing disorders or mental retardness.”
He further added that the Punjab government would soon come up with the policy, but “I told the parents to make her apply for other government jobs like that of a constable. She has a state certificate in the able-bodied general category, where the department can help her get a job under the 3 per cent quota. We can also help her with Central Government jobs where there already is a policy for deaf players. She must not lose her heart. The government and the department will back her wherever it can on a merit basis.”
Tribune further reported that the Sports Minister had extended her Rs 11 cash reward ‘over and above the policy. Notably, Malika has been asking for the financial support and job that the Punjab govt promised. In November last year, she posted on Twitter that she had been waiting for the Punjab govt’s invite for the job and cash rewards for two months as she was a graduate now, but the state government was not paying any attention to her requests.
