Deepa Malik opposes award wapsi; says 'be responsible citizen, not bad sportsperson'

Led by two-time Asian Games gold-winning former wrestler Kartar Singh, a few sportspersons from Punjab on Monday marched towards the Rashtrapati Bhavan to return "35 national sports awards" in a show of solidarity with farmers agitating against new agriculture laws but were stopped midway by the police.

'Be a responsible citizen but not a bad sportsperson'

Reacting to the 'award wapsi',  Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) President and a medalist in the Paralympic games Deepak Malik said that "sportsperson must move forward in the right spirit of sportsmanship and asserted that the issue can be resolved in a "healthy way." 

Taking to Twitter, she said that returning national and Padma awards "would be disrespect for our Tricolour. Be a responsible citizen but not a bad sportsperson."

'National Awards & farmers issue two separate things'

The Indian Olympic Association offered its first comments on the sportspersons' involvement in the protest, urging them to have faith in the government and to treat their national honours and the agitation as "two separate things." "Of late sportspersons are seen to be announcing the return of their National Awards as a mark of their support for the recent farmers' issue. National Awards and farmers issue are two separate things," IOA President Narinder Batra and Secretary General Rajeev Mehta said in a joint statement.

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The marching athletes claimed to have the support of several Arjuna and other national sports awards winners. Earlier, Khel Ratna awardee and India's first Olympic medal-winning boxer Vijender Singh had also threatened to return the honour in support of the protesting farmers.

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Thousands of farmers from Punjab and Haryana are camping at various Delhi border points for over a week, protesting against the new farm laws, which they claim will dismantle the minimum support price system, leaving them at the "mercy" of big corporate houses.

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Farmers' concern is that these laws, aimed at reforming the sector, will eliminate the MSP and mandis that ensure their earning. But the government says the MSP system will continue and the new laws will give farmers more options to sell their produce. The government is holding talks with farmers, who have called for a 'Bharat Bandh' on December 8, supported by various political parties.

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