The people should join the government’s efforts in developing sports infrastructure, Union Minister and Olympian Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said in Belagavi on Tuesday.
The Union government is working hard to promote sports and build quality sports infrastructure. There is no doubt that a lot more needs to be done. However, sports promotion is everyone’s responsibility, Colonel Rathore, Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, told presspersons.
“State governments and local communities should join such efforts,” he said. He said that as a Member of Parliament, he was using his local area development funds to equip villages in his constituency with sports infrastructure. Communities should contribute by organising sports events. For example, a local shuttle badminton event can be organised even if every family in a colony contributes ₹10 each, he said.
He also clarified that the Union government’s responsibility was to take care of sportspersons who compete at international levels. Other sportspersons should be supported by governments at the State or regional levels, he said.
Previous comments
Colonel Rathore was responding to questions about whether he was satisfied with the NDA government’s work of improving sports infrastructure. He had earlier criticised the UPA government for not providing quality infrastructure to sportspersons.
He claimed to have set up a shooting range at his home with his own funds to practice for the Olympics and other sporting events.
