New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) staunchly defended the move to rename the Sardar Patel cricket stadium at Motera in Ahmedabad after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as a political row broke out Wednesday.
Calling the controversy unnecessary, the BJP said only a part of the complex is named after PM Modi.
Moreover, it accused the Congress of doublespeak, saying the party, which named over a dozen stadiums and 28 sports trophies after members of the Nehru-Gandhi family, has no right to question the move.
In a statement, the government, however, pegged the number of stadiums named after the Nehru-Gandhi family at 23.
The defence came as the Congress attacked the Modi government, calling the decision an insult to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and a display of PM Modi’s narcissism.
On Wednesday, ahead of the India-England Test match, President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the world’s largest, 1.32-lakh-seater stadium in the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju.
At the event, it was announced that the refurbished stadium had been renamed as the Narendra Modi Stadium, in honour of the sitting PM.
According to Kovind’s address, the PM had conceptualised the project during his tenure as the state chief minister and the Gujarat Cricket Association president.
“We have decided to name it after the country’s Prime Minister. It was Modi ji’s dream project,” Shah said after the inauguration.
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‘Modi’s dream project, Congress spreading lies’
Speaking to ThePrint, BJP’s Gujarat unit general secretary Vinod Bhai Chavda pointed out that only a part of the Sardar Patel complex in Ahmedabad has been renamed.
“What is the harm in it? Congress has named 19 stadiums in the name of Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. Narendra bhai was instrumental behind its (stadium) creation. He is the most loved prime minister. They are spreading lies. It’s a habit of Congress party,” said Chavda.
BJP national secretary Satya Kumar released a list of stadiums that have been named after members of the Nehru-Gandhi family.
•28 sports tournaments, awards & trophies named after members of Nehru-Gandhi family.
•19 stadium named after the members of the Nehru-Gandhi family.
Same party people are rattled when merely '1' stadium has been named after @narendramodi Ji which was his vision & brainchild. pic.twitter.com/JNoGU5hDha
— Y. Satya Kumar (@satyakumar_y) February 24, 2021
“It is Congress’ hypocrisy. Only one stadium is named after the prime minister (Modi), but there are a dozen stadiums named after Rajiv Gandhi. But they are questioning BJP,” Kumar told ThePrint.
These statements came even as Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Shashi Tharoor and Rajeev Satav, among others, tweeted against the move.
"इस मिट्टी में कुछ अनूठा है, जो कई बाधाओं के बावजूद हमेशा महान आत्माओं का निवास रहा है।"
~ सरदार पटेल
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) February 24, 2021
Maybe they just realised the stadium was named for a Home Minister who had banned their parent organisation! Or maybe this is advance booking to ensure the next visiting Head of State is hosted here, like Trump? Or is this the beginning of a legacy-creation-thru-labelling spree? https://t.co/yMppcTbSw5
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) February 24, 2021
Renaming Motera cricket stadium from Sardar Patel to Narendra Modi is an absolute disgrace. This shows how narcissistic our PM has become. This is outrageous and a clear sign of autocratic dictatorship.https://t.co/sDi4tKKhZW
— Rajeev Satav (@SATAVRAJEEV) February 24, 2021
अब लोहपुरुष सरदार पटेल को भी वणक्कम !
पहले महात्मा गाँधी को खादी कैलेंडर से ग़ायब किया और अब मोटेरा स्टेडीयम से सरदार पटेल को।
एक “आत्ममुग्ध” प्रधानमंत्री और चाटुकारों की सरकार से इसी शर्मनाक व्यवहार की उम्मीद थी।
जान लें, ‘बापू’ और ‘सरदार’ का नाम भाजपाई कभी नही मिटा सकते। pic.twitter.com/g1NJbNappR
— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) February 24, 2021
World’s largest stadium
The Narendra Modi stadium has been built over 63 acres at an estimated cost of Rs 800 crore. Its total area is equivalent to 32 Olympic size soirée fields, said a government press statement.
With its seating capacity, it surpassed the Melbourne Cricket Stadium in Australia, which can accommodate 90,000.
Over the years, the Motera stadium has seen many milestones, including former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar’s 10,000-run landmark in Test cricket and Kapil Dev’s feat to become the highest wicket-taker in the world in 1994 surpassing Sir Richard Hadlee.
Australian cricket firm Populous, which has the Melbourne cricket stadium to its credit, is the architect of the new stadium.
Speaking to ThePrint, a BJP minister in the Gujarat government said, “After two days of the controversy, nobody will remember the Congress objection. People will only remember Narendra Modi’s vision to construct the biggest stadium.”
He added, “Narendra bhai is very fond of creating huge, larger-than-life infrastructure, whether it’s the Gandhi Museum (Gandhinagar) or Sardar Patel statue project (Narmada). Now he has taken new parliament building construction. It will be a new age building. History remembers those who create infrastructure, not those who criticise.”
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