Congress attacks BJP on renaming of Motera stadium after PM

‘Adani end’ and ‘Reliance end’ also draw flak.

Renaming the revamped cricket stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad after Prime Minister Narendra Modi was an act of revenge against the former Union home minister Sardar Vallabhai Patel, after whom the stadium was originally named, because he [Sardar Patel] banned the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Congress said in a sharp attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

In a tweet, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said, “Beautiful how the truth reveals itself. Narendra Modi stadium- Adani end, Reliance end. With Jay Shah presiding. #HumDoHumareDo.”

He had used the phrase “Hum Do Humare Do” during an intervention in a debate on the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha to allege that the BJP government promoted crony capitalism.

At a press conference, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have waited for succeeding governments to pay him a tribute by naming stadiums or highways. But, he said, the Modi government was not sure of its own achievements and feared that no other government would make such gestures.

“We understand the acrimony, the hatred, [against those] who chose the Congress route and reject the ideology of RSS. We know how much you hate Sardar Patel. We are proud of S.P. Patel for many things, including banning the RSS. Today, you have avenged that act for your party and the RSS,” Mr. Khera said.

He pointed out that while the appropriation of Sardar Patel was recent, the RSS for long had run propaganda against him, including the free distribution of the book The Tragic Story of Partition by H.V. Seshadri, which is critical of Patel.

The fact that the stadium had an “Adani end” and a “Reliance end”, displayed the true state of our nation, Mr. Khera said. “I was curious to see who the pitch was named after. But then, since the stadium is named after Mr. Modi, there is no need to name the pitch. The ball will still spin well,” he said.

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