Key Points:
- Maharashtra chief minister Udhav Thackeray on Wednesday said that his party doesn’t need to learn Hindutva from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government.
- “Someone said now we won’t be losing any cricket matches because the name of the stadium has been changed,” Thackeray said.
- CM Thackeray also criticized the Centre by mentioning the farmers’ protest as well as the China-India dispute in his address.
World’s biggest Cricket Stadium has been recently built and named as the NARENDRA MODI STADIUM in Ahmedabad. With this, a lot of eyes turned towards the name change and mixed reactions were seen. Taking a swipe at the Centre, Maharashtra chief minister Udhav Thackeray on Wednesday said that his party doesn’t need to learn Hindutva from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government.
“Someone said now we won’t be losing any cricket matches because the name of the stadium has been changed. We won’t be losing any match in that stadium… You erase name of Vallabh bhai (Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel), do not award Bharat Ratna to Savarkar (Veer Savarkar) and try to teach Hindutva to us,” Thackeray said replying to a discussion on the Governor’s address in the state assembly.
The cricketing arena in Ahmedabad was renamed after Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the presence of President Ram Nath Kovind, Union home minister Amit Shah and Union minister of state for sports Kiren Rijiju.
At the opening of the stadium that can accommodate 130,000 spectators, last month, Shah had said, “Ahmedabad will then be known as the sports city of India.” The sports minister on the other hand had said, “It is a proud moment for India and not just cricket. While it is the largest cricket ground, it’s also one of the most modern stadiums in the world.”
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar did not miss the chance to target the opposition Congress over the issue. He tweeted, “The name of the Sports Complex is Sardar Patel Sports Enclave. Only the name of the cricket stadium, within the complex, has been named after Narendra Modi. Ironically, ‘The Family’, which never respected Sardar Patel, even after his death, is now making hue and cry.”
CM Thackeray also criticized the Centre by mentioning the farmers’ protest as well as the China-India dispute in his address. Thackeray said, “Farmers are in trouble there (Punjab). Their power & water supplies have been cut off & nails put in their path. But they run away when they see China. If this kind of preparation was made at borders with China or Bangladesh, infiltration won’t happen.”
