Punjab congress bhawan

Punjab Congress MLA: Sukhpal Singh Khaira, a Congress party MLA from Punjab, has raised serious concerns about the continued neglect of sportspersons in the state and demanded immediate intervention from the Punjab Government. Addressing a gathering of national and international players at the Punjab Congress Bhawan in Chandigarh, Khaira alleged discrimination against athletes and called for a complete review of the state's sports policy.

He highlighted that despite the Punjab Sports Policy providing for a 3% reservation in government jobs for sportspersons, the quota has remained non-functional since 2016.

“Due to a pause in this policy, players who have brought laurels to the state are now forced to take up odd jobs. One girl runs a tea stall in Amritsar, and a para-athletics gold medallist repairs cycles for a living. If we continue to ignore sports, the youth will drift toward drugs. I appeal to the state government to enforce the 3% quota in all departments and provide respectable positions to those who have won awards,” Khaira said.