Congress Leader Calls Out BJP For Biased Sports Fund Distribution to States Under Khelo India Scheme

Congress leader and former Indian Hockey men's team captain Pargat Singh has called out the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) and the central government for their "biased distribution" of sports funds under the Khelo India Scheme.

The Union government has allocated Rs 3,442.32 crore for the sports ministry this year with a major portion of the sports budget being allocated to Khelo India, which is the current government's flagship programme for promoting grassroots-level sports.

Compared to last year's budget of Rs 3,396.96 crore for the sports ministry, there has been a slight increase of Rs 45.36 crore this year, leading to the budget for Khelo India has been hiked by Rs 20 crore.

Although there has been a slight increase in fans, the issue raised by Pargat Singh is that there is discrimination in the allocation of funds for Punjab and Haryana, the states which sent more athletes to Paris Olympics 2024.

"Despite sending 48 athletes to the Paris Olympics, Punjab and Haryana received Rs 78 crore and Rs 66 crore, respectively, while UP and Gujarat, sending only 9 athletes, got Rs 438 crore and Rs 426 crore. Is this not a biased distribution? How long will the BJP continue this discrimination against states?" Singh posted on X.

The Punjab MLA also shared a list of state and Union territory-wise details of funds released for the development of sports infrastructure under the Union government's Khelo India Scheme, showcasing the difference in distribution.

The majoiry of the share from the Rs 2,168.78 crore released under the Khelo India scheme has been allocated to BJP-ruled states of Uttar Pradesh (Rs 438 crore) and Gujarat (Rs 426 crore). On the other hand, Punjab only secured Rs 78.02 crore and Haryana Rs 66.59 crore.