The sports kit scam of the previous Congress government in Punjab has come to the fore. Charanjit Singh Channi was the CM at that time. Before the election code of conduct came into force in the Channi government, money was transferred directly to the players' accounts for sports kits. The next day, money was withdrawn from their accounts through checks/bank drafts.
Aam Aadmi Party Government's Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer asked why its tender was not done? This raises questions. He said that a letter has been written to recommend vigilance inquiry into this case. In this case, the then director of the sports department and the district sports officers are likely to be targeted.
The entire matter is of November 2021 during the time of the Channi government when the government approved providing sports kits to 8900 players. Each player received 3,000 rupees for the sports kit. The money was directly transferred to the players' accounts. This amount was about 2.67 crores. . After the money was transferred, the Sports Department withdrew the amounts through checks and drafts from the players in the name of some firms. Later, kits were provided to the players by the department's side, the quality of which has been questioned.
It is being questioned why the money was taken back from them if the Channi government had provided it to them. If the government itself had to buy the kits and give them to the players, then why was it not tendered. However, when approval was given to buy the kits, the election code of conduct was expected.
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Furthermore, the preliminary investigation found that no written instructions were given for money withdrawal from players. Checks and drafts were taken from the players on oral orders by the district sports officers for the amount placed in their accounts.