Was asked for bribe, girl says in front of Uttarakhand CM, cameras. Then, a twist
A Class 12 student's emotional account of missing an international Taekwondo tournament sparked a political row in Uttarakhand after the Congress alleged that she had
A Class 12 student's emotional account of missing an international Taekwondo tournament sparked a political row in Uttarakhand after the Congress alleged that she had been asked for a bribe. In a later video, however, the student gave a fuller account and did not describe the money as a bribe. Shayra, a student of CNI Girls School, raised the issue during Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami's 'Mukhyamantri Yuva Vidyarthi Manthan' programme in Dehradun on August 10. Read Full Story She told the gathering that she had won gold at a national Taekwondo competition and was selected for an international event, but could not participate because she was unable to arrange Rs 1.5 lakh.
Shayra became emotional while speaking, prompting Dhami to comfort her and direct officials to collect details about her school and look into the matter. CONGRESS ALLEGES BRIBE DEMAND The Congress interpreted Shayra's remarks as an allegation that Rs 1.5 lakh had been demanded as a bribe for her participation in the international competition. In a post on X, the party accused the BJP government of corruption and claimed the student had been prevented from competing internationally despite winning at the national level. The Congress also alleged that the live broadcast of the programme was later removed from the government's, the Chief Minister's and the BJP's social media platforms.
Shayra, however, did not explicitly identify the Rs 1.5 lakh as a bribe in her remarks at the event or name anyone who had allegedly demanded the money. STUDENT'S LATER VIDEO OFFERS FULLER ACCOUNT Shayra later released another video, saying she had been unable to complete her account before the Chief Minister. In the video, she said she had travelled to Jammu for the national championships and was selected for an international tournament in Romania. She said the organisation involved in the event agreed to cover around Rs 1.70 lakh of the expenses, while she had to arrange the remaining Rs 1.5 lakh herself.
Shayra said she had not informed her school or anyone else about the opportunity and was therefore unable to arrange the remaining money and travel to Romania. Her later account did not describe the Rs 1.5 lakh as a bribe or allege that any government official had demanded the money. Instead, she described it as the amount she was required to contribute towards the cost of participating in the international tournament. Ends
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