Cong asks PM to rename stadiums named after him and Arun Jaitley
The Centre on Friday rechristened the country’s highest sporting honour Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in the honour of hockey wizard Dhyan Chand following the admirable performance of both men’s and women’s hockey teams in the Tokyo Olympics.
The award was earlier named after former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
The ruling BJP hailed the announcement made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Union Home Minister Amit Shah dubbing it a “true tribute” to one of India’s greatest sportspersons.
“Naming the country’s highest sports honour in the name of the country’s greatest sportsperson Major Dhyan Chand is a true tribute to him. The decision will make proud everyone associated with the sporting world,” Shah said, praising Modi for the decision.
The Congress also welcomed the move but accused Modi of having “myopic political motive” demanding that the PM should also change stadiums named after him and late BJP leader Arun Jaitley.
Modi tweeted that he had been getting many requests from citizens across India to name the Khel Ratna Award after Major Dhyan Chand.
“Respecting their sentiment, the Khel Ratna Award will hereby be called the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award! Major Dhyan Chand was among India’s foremost sportspersons who brought honour and pride for India. It is fitting that our nation’s highest sporting honour will be named after him,” the PM tweeted.
The exceptional performance of the men’s and women’s hockey teams has captured the imagination of our entire nation, said Modi further, adding that there is a renewed interest towards the sport that is emerging across the length and breadth of India.
This is a very positive sign for the coming times, he added. The prestigious sports award carries a prize money of Rs 25 lakh.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also lauded the decision as a commendable step and said Dhyan Chand is a symbol of inspiration and pride for Indian sports persons.
At a press conference here on Friday, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said his party welcomes the decision to name the award after the “the most celebrated sportsperson and hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand”.
Taking a swipe at Modi, Surjewala said, “We sincerely hope Modi should not have used his myopic political motive to drag the name of a celebrated player like Major Dhyan Chand. Rajiv Gandhi is not known for any award; he is known for his sacrifice, for his ideas and for commitment to India and for his sacrifice for India and for the manner in which he transformed India in the 21st century.”
“We sincerely hope that now that a new beginning has been made, Modi will announce changing the name of Narendra Modi stadium and Arun Jaitley stadium and name them after legendary sports persons like Milkha Singh, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, Leander Paes, PT Usha, Mary Kom, Abhinav Bindra and many many others,” the Congress leader further said.
Taking the occasion to attack the Government, Surjewala said the Centre reduced the sports budget by Rs 230 crore in an Olympic year and is now drawing attention away from the core and fundamental issues of farmers, their agitation, “runaway” inflation and the Pegasus spyware issue.
However, the BJP leaders welcomed the move wholeheartedly. BJP MP Gautam Gambhir, a member of two cricket world cup winning teams, said the Khel Ratna Award should have been named after a sports’ personality when it was launched.
Our hockey teams have done so well, and the award should be named after whom if not a player, he said, adding, “Entire country should support it.”
