Only Motera Stadium Has Been Renamed After PM Narendra Modi; Sports Complex Still Has Sardar Patel's Name: Central Government
Published - 25 Feb 2021, 01:15 AM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:41 AM
Amid a raging controversy following the renaming of the Motera Stadium after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Central Government has clarified that only the name of the stadium has been changed and that the sporting complex continues to be named after former Home Minister and Bharat Ratna Sardar Patel.
On a day when President Ram Nath Kovind the much-talked-about largest stadium in the world ahead of the pink-ball Test between India and England, a huge controversy broke out after it was announced that the stadium will now be called as ‘Narendra Modi Stadium’
Several Congress Leader like Shashi Tharoor took to their official Twitter accounts to lambast the Narendra Modi-government for what they deemed as an ‘insult’ to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
“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 (sic)?” wrote Shashi Tharoor.
“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.” said his party colleague Rajeev Satav.
Union Minister Prakash Javdekar told the reporters that only the Motera Stadium has been renamed after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that the sporting complex continues to be named after Sardar Patel.
Javdekar’s colleague and his fellow Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad took a jibe at the Congress Leaders, asking whether their party patron Sonia Gandhi or her son Rahul Gandhi have ever visited the world’s tallest statue of Sardar Patel erected at Kevadiya in Gujarat.
“I want to say this with full responsibility that a tourist place getting global praise has not been visited yet or praised by the two Congress leaders. What else is there to say?” said Prasad.
It is pertinent to note that the refurbished stadium which is built at an estimated cost of Rs 800 Crore was PM Narendra Modi’s dream project which he had envisioned when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat.
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Motera Stadium Narendra Modi Stadium
