Amarinder undos ‘injustice’ to Harmanpreet; offers police job

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has offered a job in the Punjab Police to Indian batswoman Harmanpreet Kaur following her stellar performance in the ICC Women’s World Cup in England.

Singh offered the post of a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) to Kaur if she so desired to join the police force, the Chief Minister’s spokesman said here on Monday. Kaur hails from Moga district.

She had led the Indian women cricket team to the finals of the World Cup with her unbeaten 171-run knock from just 115 balls against the formidable Australian women cricket side on Friday.

The Chief Minister also promised to review the sports policy of the state to undo the “injustice” done to Kaur by the previous Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP government which had refused to give her a job.

Kaur went on to join the Indian Railways in Mumbai to sustain her sporting career.

“The young girl had done Punjab proud with her superb performance that had steered Team India to a semi-final victory and given a tight fight to England in the final match to emerge a close second,” Singh said in a statement after the women’s World Cup final at London’s Lord’s cricket ground.

He said she deserved all the adulation and recognition that was coming her way.

He also announced a Rs 5 lakh cash award for Kaur.

“Taking cognizance of media reports that Harmanpreet had wanted to join the Punjab Police some years ago, the Chief Minister said his government was keen to correct the wrong perpetrated on the young cricketer by the (Parkash Singh) Badal government, which had refused to accommodate the national player in Punjab Police,” the spokesman said.

Singh, who called up Harmanpreet’s father Harmandar Singh on Sunday, said his government would initiate steps to change the sports policy to accommodate budding sportspersons in government jobs, which the erstwhile Badal government had denied.

Flaying the Akali Dal government’s “blunt dismissal of Harmanpreet’s request for a police job to make both ends meet when she was at the start of her career”, the Chief Minister told Harmandar Singh that if his daughter was still keen on a government job, he would look into a change in the sports policy to provide the same to her.