CWG medallist Divya Kakran v AAP Government- Controversy Explained

Since Wrestler Divya Kakran won her bronze medal in the 68 Kg category at Commonwealth Games 2022, there has been a to-and-fro fight on Twitter between Divya and Delhi Government.

The controversy blew so much that Divya Kakran held a private press conference yesterday to clarify her stand and clear out the air around all the allegations.

What is the whole controversy?

It all started with a tweet. When Divya won her bronze medal in 68 Kg, Chief Minister of Delhi, Mr Arvind Kejriwal tweeted posted a congratulatory tweet on her medal.

Responding to the above tweet, Divya thanked Mr Kejriwal and pointed out the lack of any rewards, recognition or support from the state government in the years she has been playing and representing the state.

The tweet from Divya created a huge uproar with the social media coming out in her support. Her tweet read, "Thank you honourable chief minister of Delhi for wishing me. I have a request from the core of my heart that I have never been recognized or rewarded for my achievements despite practising wrestling in Delhi for the past 20 years. I request you to reward me like you do athletes from different states."

Responding to this tweet by Divya, the AAP government said in a statement, " The Delhi government respects all sportspersons of the country and prays for their bright future." "Currently Divya Kakran plays for Uttar Pradesh. If she had played from Delhi or she had been part of any sports scheme of the government or she has applied in any such scheme then the government will surely look into it."

The matter escalated further when AAP MLA from Greater Kailash Mr Saurabh Bhardwaj tweeted saying, "Sister whole country is proud of you but I don't remember that you play from Delhi. You have always represented Uttar Pradesh. Although the athlete belongs to the country." He added a few screenshots from news articles supporting his claim.

After Saurabh's claim on Twitter, Divya Kakran replied with a certificate from the Wrestling Federation of India which proves that she has indeed represented Delhi previously.

In the Tweet, Divya mentioned that she had represented Delhi from 2011 to 2017 and if people don't trust her, she can upload all the gold medal certificates she won for Delhi.

This has been the whole timeline of the controversy.

Let's look at both sides of the story independently.

Divya Kakran's Side of the Story

Talking to The Bridge, Divya says, "I am doing all this to show the truth and I have enough proofs that I have represented Delhi. My only fault is that I asked for my due publicly".

"After winning a bronze medal on such a big stage, I am getting questions about where I belong and when I left Delhi instead of congratulatory calls", says Divya.

Her sister Neena who also manages Divya, said, " We as residents of Delhi are hurt with the kind of allegations people are putting on us on social media. Gokulpuri is our home and we have been living here for ages."

"Divya is only asking for her due and the recognition which she never got. She is asking for the rewards which are distributed among athletes from a different state but not from people who belong to this state."

Divya who was born in Uttar Pradesh in 1998 moved to Delhi in 2001 and has been living since then in Gokulpuri. Coming from a humble background, Divya's family struggled financially with his father selling langots.

Divya claims despite all the hardships she pursued wrestling and won more than 50 medals at the National and International levels but nobody ever from the Delhi government came to even ask for anything.

Speaking further Divya says, "I first participated in nationals in the year of 2009-10. I have always been supported by the local people around me who rewarded me and supported me. When I won the gold medal in the Asian Cadet championship in 2015 nobody from the Delhi government even came to check on me or congratulate me."

"All I am asking is for the recognition and rewards from the Delhi government nothing else. I shifted to Uttar Pradesh because they gave me rewards. They awarded me with Rani Lakshmibai Award and cash. Now I have been promised a position of Gazetted officer and cash reward. I will represent UP and I want to put end to this. I am not a political person, I will make my moves on the mat and focus on the Olympics and Asian Games." concludes Divya.

AAP Government's side of the Story

The AAP government tweeted from their official handle a clarification about the whole controversy explaining that she represented U.P. from 2018 and that is why she is not liable for the benefits.

The Delhi govt, on social media, continues to maintain that Divya doesn't represent the state. Further, no one from the govt responded to calls or texts from The Bridge for comments.