The renaming of Sardar Patel Cricket Stadium at Motera in Ahmedabad to Narendra Modi Stadium, in presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, President Ram Nath Kovind, Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju, Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat, and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah, has sparked a row.
The practice of naming stadiums after politicians is not new. In India, there are stadiums named after former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Meanwhile, what caught everyone's attention was that the two ends of the ground were named after the Adani Group and Reliance Industries.
Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday tweeted, "Beautiful how the truth reveals itself. Narendra Modi stadium - Adani end - Reliance end With Jay Shah presiding." He also used the hashtag 'Hum Do Humare Do' in his tweet.
Echoing Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said, "Two brothers (Adani & Ambani) are there on the two sides (ends) of the stadium (Narendra Modi Stadium). 'Hum do, humare do ho gaya."
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury also slammed PM Modi over the same. He also used the trending meme 'pawri ho rahi hai' to mock the Centre.
"Yeh Narendra Modi Stadium hai, yeh iske do Ends hain...aur yeh cronies ki pawri ho rahi hai (This is the Narendra Modi Stadium, these are its two ends...and a party of cronies is going on)," Yechury said in a tweet, sharing a picture which showed the two ends of the ground.
Meanwhile, according to a report, both companies have made huge donations for the construction of the stadium. "In fact, in addition to the donation, both have bought a corporate box each, the cost of which is 250 crores + GST for a period of 25 years," the report said. "Sources added that it’s in the agreement that the ends will be named as per the demand of the donor, in this case being Adani and Reliance," the report added.
