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Kila Raipur Sports Federation: A delegation of Qila Raipur Sports Society led by BJP National Spokesperson Jayveer Shergill met Union Minister for Sports, Youth Affairs and Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur.
During the meeting with the Union Minister, the members of the delegation urged Thakur to get approval from the President for the ‘Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Punjab Amendment) Bill 2019’. Shergill told Thakur that the President’s assent to the bill would pave the way for the resumption of the bullock cart race at the annual Fort Raipur Rural Olympics.
Shergill drew Thakur’s attention to the serious issue of culture and heritage associated with Punjab and Punjabihood for the past several decades and said that the above rural games have been being held continuously since 1933 at village Qila Raipur, district Ludhiana. The change of time has increased the popularity of these rural sports and they are known as mini Olympics all over the world. The most popular of these sports is bullock racing, which was banned in the year 2014 by the order of the Hon’ble Supreme Court following a petition by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).
Jayveer Shergill told the Union Minister that seeing the popularity of this sport in Punjab and its historical and cultural importance, the Punjab Vidhan Sabha passed the ‘Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Punjab Amendment) Bill 2019’ and sent it to the Honorable President for approval, but The Government of India has not yet approved the resumption of bullock cart races.
Briefing the Union Minister in detail, Shergill said that the game is not only played in Qila Raipur village (Ludhiana), but in 80 percent of Punjab’s villages, which number around 12,000. So re-allowing this sport will have a positive impact not only on Qila Raipur village but on every village in Punjab which is emotionally connected to this sport. The food producing farmers of the country have a lot of attachment to this game, who come to enjoy it in the Qila Raipur Stadium in lakhs.
The members of the delegation told the Union Minister that many big corporate houses also sponsor these games. Mentioning the seriousness of the issue, Shergill said that lakhs of people, including a large number of foreign tourists, come to enjoy these games. Due to the immense popularity of these games, the Government of India included these games in the list of heritage games in 1970, due to which an annual amount of 2.5 lakh rupees is given by the Government of India for the organization of these heritage games every year since 1970.
The members of the delegation told the Minister that the Government of India had sought some clarifications from the Government of Punjab vide letter No. 17/44/2019-JUDL & PP dated 22.2.2022 for the resumption of bullock cart races. Clarified by Government of Punjab dated 18-07-2022 Mr. Suresh Chandra Tamta, Deputy Secretary, Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs (Judicial & PP Section, Judicial Wing), Room No. 17, 2nd Floor, Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium New Was sent to Delhi.
Jayveer Shergill humbly appealed to Thakur to help the Qila Raipur Sports Society to include bullock cart races in the upcoming games. Apart from this, the annual grant of Rs 2.5 lakh given by the Government of India for the Indian Heritage Games has also not been received for the last 4 years. Shergill requested Thakur to look into the matter, so that the grant arrears could be released quickly.
BJP national spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill met Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur, along with Kila Raipur Sports Federation (known for hosting Rural Olympics) seeking the resumption of bullock-cart racing.
“Bullock-cart racing is essential to the cultural heritage of over… pic.twitter.com/nxeO8LjvjO
— ANI (@ANI) April 19, 2023
Shergill urged Thakur to consider the matter sympathetically and give his assent and make all possible efforts to get the President’s assent to the ‘Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Punjab Amendment) Bill 2019’ so that our old glorious Long live the legacy. Therefore, the residents of 12000 villages of Punjab including Fort Raipur will always be grateful to you. The BJP spokesperson also gave a letter to Thakur in this regard.
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