Delhi Govt Refuses To Offer CWG Medalist Divya Kakran With Cash Reward

Divya Kakran, who won the bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games, was not given a financial reward on Thursday by the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government, claiming that since she represents Uttar Pradesh, they are not allowed to do so. Kakran had previously criticised the Delhi government for refusing to support her financially despite the fact that she was representing the state and bringing honour to the nation on the international stage.

According to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj, since Kakran is from Uttar Pradesh but lives in Delhi, cash rewards are not possible. Bharadwaj said to ANI, "Player lives in Delhi but has only played for the state till 2016-17. As for respect, CM called her in 2018 respectfully. We can't give her cash rewards as she represents UP but we have always respected her."

Delhi Govt Refuses To Honour Divya Kakran:

At a press conference on Thursday, Kakran, who took home the bronze medal in the Women's Freestyle 68kg event at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, spoke about the Delhi government's alleged lack of support. Despite her performances for Delhi and India, Kakran said that she never received any kind of support from Arvind Kejriwal and his administration. She also displayed a certificate proving that she had served as Delhi's representative from 2011 to 2017.  Kakran stated that she fled to Uttar Pradesh since the Delhi government had failed to assist her despite repeated requests.

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In her press conference, Kakran also provided instances of other wrestlers who, despite not being from the state of Delhi, received assistance from the Delhi government. She stated that despite being from Haryana, Sushil Kumar, Saina Nehwal, Yogeshwar Dutt, and Ravi Dahiya all received support from the Delhi government. Kakran added that Kejriwal had assured her in person that he would give her enough supplies for her training, but the AAP leader never followed through on his word and continued to ignore her. To support her claims, Kakran displayed a letter she had written to Kejriwal.

Kakran reported that only Manoj Tiwari had given her the financial support of 3 lakh despite the fact that she had won 58 medals for Delhi up till 2017. She continued, "Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, presented me with the Rani Lakshmi Bai award and a check for 3,11,000."