The Shiv Sena did not welcome the Centre’s decision to rename the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award after hockey legend Dhyan Chand.
The Shiv Sena on Monday claimed that the Centre’s decision to name the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award after hockey legend Dhyan Chand was not the will of the people but a “political game”. An editorial in Shiv Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ also asked what was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s contribution to cricket that a stadium (in Ahmedabad) was named after him.
India’s highest sporting honour, the Khel Ratna award, which was named after former PM Rajiv Gandhi, was on Friday re-christened in honor of hockey wizard Dhyan Chand after the men’s and women’s hockey teams’ commendable performance at the Tokyo Olympics.
Making the announcement, Prime Minister Modi said that he has been receiving several requests from citizens across India to name the Khel Ratna Award after Major Dhyan Chand.
An editorial in ‘Saamana’ on Monday said that late Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi were victims of terrorist acts. There may be political differences with leaders like him, but their sacrifice for the development of the country cannot be mocked.
It claimed, changing the name of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award to Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award is not the will of the people but a political game.
“Major Dhyan Chand could have been honored without insulting Rajiv Gandhi’s sacrifice. But, the country has lost such tradition and culture. It would have made Dhyan Chand sad in heaven,” the Shiv Sena said.
It said that just because the Modi government changed the name of the award does not mean that earlier governments had forgotten Dhyan Chand.
The Shiv Sena said it was not a great honor for Dhyanchand to use his name for the award in the name of Rajiv Gandhi, who made the “supreme sacrifice for the country”. It claimed, “Removal of Rajiv Gandhi’s name (from the award) is political hatred.”
The Marathi publication said that the question raised by some BJP leaders about Rajiv Gandhi holding a hockey stick in his hands was true.
It said, people are also asking what Narendra Modi has done for cricket that instead of Sardar Patel’s name, a stadium in Ahmedabad should be named after him.
The same criteria should have been applied for naming a stadium in Delhi (Feroz Shah Kotla) after (late BJP leader) Arun Jaitley. Shiv Sena said that people are also asking these questions.
The editorial also claimed that when the Modi government was celebrating India’s victory in the recently concluded Olympic Games, it cut the sports budget by Rs 300 crore.
When the Sahara Group withdrew the sponsorship of the men’s and women’s hockey teams, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik accepted their guardianship.
Therefore, the contribution of the Odisha government is equally important in the (men’s) hockey team’s victory (in the Olympics).
When Khashaba Jadhav won the first individual Olympic medal (bronze) for the country, why didn’t anyone think of setting up a ‘Khel Ratna’ award in his name? Shiv Sena asked.
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