Not easy to change rules, instructed office to make an exception: Rijiju

Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju on Thursday said that it is not easy to change rules, yet he made an exception to help powerlifter Deepthika Puthran.

"I wish you understand the system. Every penny of public money must be spent judiciously. Rules didn't permit 4 financial support to non-Olympic Sports & it's not easy to change rules yet I instructed my office to make an exception for this needy girl. Delayed but the file has come now," Rijiju tweeted after a Twitter user pointed that the said girl is yet to receive help from the minister.

Earlier, in July this year, Puthran had asked Rijiju for financial assistance to participate in the Commonwealth Powerlifting Championship in Canada. The minister immediately replied to the powerlifter's tweet assuring her of help.

Speaking to ANI, Puthran had said, "My father is a fisherman and my mother is a housewife so we have some financial problem. My cousin advised me to tweet to Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju. I tweeted to him and after almost three hours, his reply came assuring me of help. Rijiju had told me to fill the forms available on a link that he tweeted. He also said that if there is any problem then send the hard copy to his office".

"The officials from the Sports Authority of India (SAI) called me and asked my email and documents. I started powerlifting in December 2018 and my first event was in Mangaluru. Another powerlifting championship was held in Gudiyatham in Tamil Nadu, which was a national event where I secured three silver medals. Thereafter I was selected to Commonwealth Powerlifting Championship scheduled to be held in Canada in September," he had added.