A Class 12 student’s emotional account of missing an international Taekwondo tournament triggered a political controversy in Uttarakhand after the Congress alleged that she had been asked to pay a bribe. However, in a subsequent video, the student provided additional details and did not characterise the money as a bribe.
Shayra, a 17-year-old student at CNI Girls School, raised the issue during Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s Mukhyamantri Yuva Vidyarthi Manthan programme in Dehradun on August 10.
She told the gathering that she had won a gold medal at a national Taekwondo competition and was selected to compete at an international event, but could not participate because she was unable to arrange Rs 1.5 lakh.
Shayra became emotional while recounting her experience, prompting Dhami to comfort her and instruct officials to collect information about her school and examine 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 to enable her participation in the international tournament.
In a post on X, the party accused the BJP-led government of corruption and claimed that the student had been denied the opportunity to compete internationally despite winning at the national level.
The Congress also alleged that the programme’s live broadcast was subsequently removed from the social media accounts of the government, the Chief Minister and the BJP.
However, Shayra did not explicitly describe the Rs 1.5 lakh as a bribe during the event, nor did she name anyone who had allegedly demanded the money.
STUDENT'S LATER VIDEO OFFERS FULLER ACCOUNT
Shayra later posted another video, explaining that she had not been able to complete her account while speaking before the Chief Minister.
In the video, she said she had travelled to Jammu to participate in the national championships and was subsequently selected for an international tournament in Romania.
According to Shayra, the organisation associated with the event agreed to cover approximately Rs 1.70 lakh of the expenses, while she was required to arrange the remaining Rs 1.5 lakh.
She said she had not informed her school or anyone else about the opportunity and was therefore unable to arrange the remaining funds needed to travel to Romania.
In her later explanation, Shayra did not call the Rs 1.5 lakh a bribe or allege that any government official had demanded the money. Instead, she described it as her share of the expenses required to participate in the international tournament.
