BCCI President Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday faced widespread outrage for his decision to praise Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah on the inauguration of the world’s largest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad. While some slammed him for being a ‘coward,’ others wondered if he had formally joined the BJP.
Taking to Twitter, Ganguly wrote, “Will miss being at the stadium today ..what an effort it must have been to create this ..pink test was our dream and it’s going be the 2nd one in india.hope to see full stands like last time. Under the leadership of Honble Prime minister
@narendramodi Amit Shah @AmitShah.”
Will miss being at the stadium today ..what an effort it must have been to create this ..pink test was our dream and it’s going be the 2nd one in india.hope to see full stands like last time. Under the leadership of Honble Prime minister @narendramodi Amit Shah @AmitShah .. pic.twitter.com/za7vdYHTN0
— Sourav Ganguly (@SGanguly99) February 24, 2021
Ganguly’s tweet came moments before President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the Motera Stadium, named after Narendra Modi. The revelation that the new stadium would no longer be called Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel stadium and, instead, be known as Narendra Modi Stadium had already upset cricket fans up and down the country. Fans had questioned the rationale behind naming a sporting complex after a living politician.
Reacting to Ganguly’s praise for Modi and Shah, one Twitter user wrote, “This unnecessary genuflection towards Modi makes us look like a tinpot dictatorship & should be avoided. Thank the stadium staff, pitch curator & others, what have Modi/Shah got to do with the organization of the match?” Another commented, “Shame on you.”
“I thought Dada was fearless but now I got to know that he is a coward. Disappointed face,” wrote one fan. Another wrote, “Seems , Dada will Join BJP anytime..!!”
Last year, Ganguly had caused quite a flutter after he stunned everyone by arriving at the Governor’s house in Kolkata for an unscheduled meeting. Governors in India are BJP workers before they are appointed to hold constitutional posts just like the Congress appointed its own functionaries to this role in the past.
Days later, Ganguly was seen sharing a stage with Amit Shah to unveil a statue of late BJP leader Arun Jaitley at the cricket stadium in Delhi. While Ganguly is the president of the Indian cricket board, Amit Shah’s son, Jay Shah, is the secretary of the board.