Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
New Delhi
Golfer Rashid Khan has levelled allegations of class bias against the Delhi Golf Club, one of the most prestigious clubs in the country that has a waiting period of 30 years for prospective members.
Khan, a two-time Asian champion, and nine other caddie-turned-golfers were made to spend over three hours at the Tuqhlaq Road police station over an argument about using the club driving range on Saturday.
Khan alleged since he and others had risen in the sport from economically weaker sections, their playing rights had been taken away as they were not part of the elite group who frequented the club.
DGC president Maj Ravinder Singh Bedi (retd) refuted the claims, saying Rashid and others had been banned from using club services on disciplinary grounds and for bringing the club into disrepute.
Khan, who has earned over Rs 25 lakh in prize money so far this year, has threatened to quit golf because of this dispute. Only two highest-ranked Indians get to play at the Olympics. Khan is ranked fifth. A few good finishes will go a long way in realising that dream.
“This is nothing but discrimination. We were not allowed to go to the driving range. So we called the police and to our surprise, we were the ones who were told to accompany them to the police station,” Khan said. “We were there for three-and-a-half hours. It is harassment. It is nothing but a class issue. How can we be seen using the same facility?” he added.
Maj Bedi dismissed the allegations and said Khan and others were not allowed as they had been put on the banned list for various issues, including being involved in a scuffle with the guards.
“First of all, he was never a caddie. The club took him as a young boy and put him through all the programmes to promote his golf. Our ladies accompanied him to the tournaments to make sure he was taken care of.
He was using the using our facilities even after turning pro,” Bedi said.
“He became arrogant and wanted to become a member. He held press conferences bad mouthing the club. He has approached the High Court to cancel the lease agreement of our club. One day he was involved in a scuffle with a guard after he was asked to remove his car from the members’ parking area. He parked the car in front of the gate and then proceeded to fight with the guards. So the committee took a decision that on disciplinary grounds and because he was involved in anti-club activities and brought the club into disrepute, he will not be allowed to use the club facilities,” he added.
The relationship between the club and Rashid Khan has been fractious for over a year now. Khan said DGC started to restrict non-members, including him, from using their facilities in 2018. When pressed, they were restored but the timings were again discriminatory.
“We were told to train after 4 pm in winters. We all know that light fades quickly in winters, what’s the use of training after that time? When some of us raised this issue, we were told either come at that time or find some other place to train. You judge whether this is discrimination or not? I can still agree they stopped me, but why the others?” Khan said
Bedi said the others were also on the banned list as they had created a ruckus last week. “They were told to enter their details at the gate when they wanted to visit the Lal Bangla inside the club. They refused and then became aggressive. They blocked my car. Even yesterday they threatened to sit on dharna when the staff told them they can’t use the club facilities. We called the police and they were taken away,” DGC president clarified.
