Blunder or well-deserved honour? Twitter debates renaming of Motera stadium after Narendra Modi

Blunder or well-deserved honour? Twitter debates renaming of Motera stadium after Narendra Modi

Anwesha MitraUpdated: Wednesday, February 24, 2021, 04:02 PM IST
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Photo: Sourav Ganguly/Twitter |

As President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the Narendra Modi Stadium in Gujarat's Motera, the reaction has been varied to say the least. While some wondered if this was a well-deserved honour, others used rather uncharitable terms to criticise the Prime Minister.

"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?" wondered Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.

Fellow party leader Gaurav Pandhi was far more critical. In a series of posts, he hit out at the Prime Minister, opining that this must be the first time that public property had been renamed after a living person.

And while it is quite natural that Opposition leaders might disapprove, rather interestingly, the social media critics appear to include those who consider themselves staunch supporters of the BJP. Going by some of the posts online, it would seem that the replacement of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's name had struck a discordant note. Hailing from Gujarat, the Iron Man of India is a revered name for many in the western state. And on previous occasions, such as with the Statue of Unity, the BJP has taken efforts to honour his rich legacy.

Of course as many have pointed out, Patel's name has not been removed per se. The Narendra Modi Stadium is only part of the 'Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave'. But many are not convinced. "Not good...Sardar Patel Stadium will be now called Narendra Modi Stadium...Not good sign. My friends call me Modi bhakt, but this is my view," read one tweet.

"He has just envisioned world's largest stadium while Sardar had envisioned world largest democracy. Other stadium can be renamed in his name but not Sardar Patel Stadium. Despite being a "bhakt" I am not liking this idea," lamented another.

Now, that is not to say that people don't believe PM Modi deserves this honour. After all, the former President of the Gujarat Cricket Association and a multi-term Chief Minister of the state has to have played a rather significant role in the development of the stadium.

"Prime minister Narendra Modi was president of Gujarat cricket association when it was envisioned that worldโ€™s largest cricket stadium will be built at Motera. I feel it is only fair that the stadium is named after him," contended one Twitter user.

Many others seem to be in agreement.

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