Malika Handa, a 25-year-old Divyang chess player, vented her frustration and outrage on Twitter after the Punjab state government failed to follow through on a job commitment it made in January.
Malika tweeted, tagging Punjab’s Aam Aadmi Party and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, “On 4th Jan 2022 in CM office Official @CHARANJITCHANNI have approved & signed approval letter on 4th Jan, 2022 to give me the job of Coach Please tell Why i hav not being given appointment letter by Punjab sports office till now ?”
The erstwhile Congress government in Punjab promised Malika Handa, who has won gold and two silver medals at international level chess championships, a job and a monetary prize. She obtained a letter of approval from the outgoing CM Charanjit Singh Channi on January 4. However, the current Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi party government has similarly failed to fulfil the promises made by the previous government.
As reported by OpIndia, Malika had previously expressed her dissatisfaction with the state government’s inactivity. She tweeted in January of this year that she had not been contacted for the prize money and employment offer offered by the former sports minister. She said that the state government had duped her and that they did not care about the deaf player. She said that the district Congress members had also expressed their support, but that nothing had been done in the last five years.
She stated on Twitter in November of last year that she had been waiting for the Punjab government’s invitation for the job and financial awards for two months because she was now a graduate, but the state government was not responding to her demands.