Renaming Khel Ratna Award was a political game: Shiv Sena
The Shiv Sena on Monday claimed the Centre's decision to rename the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award after Indian hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand was not the people's wish, but a "political game." An editorial in the Sena mouthpiece Saamana also asked what was Prime Minister Narendra Modi's contribution to cricket that a stadium (in Ahmedabad) was named after him.
Award was rechristened on Friday in honor of Major Chand
India's highest sporting honor Khel Ratna Award, named after former PM Rajiv Gandhi, was on Friday rechristened in the honor of hockey wizard Dhyan Chand, following the admirable performance of both men's and women's hockey teams in the Tokyo Olympics. Making the announcement, Modi said he had been getting many requests from citizens across India to name the Khel Ratna Award after Major Chand.
Rajiv Gandhi's sacrifices toward the country cannot be mocked: Sena
On Monday, the editorial in Saamana said late Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi were victims of terror acts. There could be political differences with leaders like them, but their sacrifices toward the country's development cannot be mocked, it opined.
Major Chand could have been honored without insulting Gandhi: Sena
"Changing the name of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award to Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award is not the people's wish, but a political game," it claimed. "Major Chand could have been honored without insulting Rajiv Gandhi's sacrifice. But, the country has lost such tradition and culture. It would have made Major Chand sad in heaven," the Sena said.
Removing Rajiv Gandhi's name is political hatred: Sena
It said just because the Modi government changed the name of the award doesn't mean earlier governments had forgotten Major Chand. It's not a great honor for Major Chand to use his name for the award by replacing it with the name of Rajiv Gandhi, who had made "supreme sacrifice for the country," it said. "Removing Rajiv Gandhi's name is political hatred," it claimed.
Some BJP leaders questioned Rajiv Gandhi's contribution to hockey
The Marathi publication said the question raised by some BJP leaders about whether Rajiv Gandhi ever held a hockey stick in his hands was valid. "The same yardstick should have been applied while renaming a Delhi stadium (Feroz Shah Kotla) after (late BJP leader) Arun Jaitley. People are also asking these questions," the Sena said.
Centre had cut down the sports budget by Rs. 300cr
The editorial also claimed that while the Modi government was celebrating India's wins at the just-concluded Olympic Games in Tokyo, it had cut down the sports budget by Rs. 300 crore.
