Alleging a conspiracy to disqualify Indian medal hopefuls from the Rio Olympics, Congress MP Pramod Tiwari on Wednesday demanded a probe if wrestler Narsingh Yadav and two other athletes were found to have been given banned drug-spiked food without their knowledge.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, he alleged that the banned substance was mixed in 'dal fry' in the Sports Authority of India (SAI) kitchen and a thorough probe has to be carried out to get to the root of the issue.
If the banned substance was consumed by the athlete unknowingly, then he should be given a fair chance to represent. But if he did it knowingly, then he should be punished, Tiwari said.
Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said it was a very relevant issue. "If there is a conspiracy, it needs to be investigated," he said.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said he will make the minister concerned, aware of the feelings of the House.
Mohd Nadimul Haque (TMC) raised the issue of four lakh minority students in West Bengal being denied scholarships due to a technical glitch in the National Scholarship portal.
Stating that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had first written to the minority affairs minister in August last year and then to the Prime Minister recently, he said states must be allowed to opt out of the National Scholarship Portal and disburse scholarships to students using DBT.
In his speech, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said last date of application for the national scholarship was extended to August 31 on the request of states.
As many as 56.27 lakh students were given Rs 37 crore worth of scholarships in 2015-16 and government will take action if any shortcoming is pointed out, he said.