Only Motera stadium renamed after PM Modi, complex continues to have Sardar Patel name: Govt
New Delhi, Feb 24: Amid a controversy over a cricket stadium in Gujarat being renamed after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government on Wednesday said the name change involves only the Motera stadium and the entire sports complex continues to be named after Sardar Patel.
Soon after President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the world's largest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad, which will now be known as 'Narendra Modi stadium', social media was flooded with remarks including by some leaders of the Congress and other opposition parties who alleged that the renaming exercise amounted to an "insult" to Sardar Patel.
Asked about the allegations, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar, however, told reporters that only the Motera stadium has been renamed and the complex continues to be named after Vallabhbhai Patel.
Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who was present alongside Javadekar at the media briefing after a cabinet meeting, also took a swipe at the Congress leaders, asking whether party chief Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi have so far praised the world's tallest statue of Sardar Patel erected at Kevadiya in Gujarat.
Javadekar said the two Congress leaders have not even visited the statue.
Prasad continued, "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?"
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor tweeted, "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)?"
His party colleague Rajeev Satav said, "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."
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, without directly talking about the stadium, tweeted a Hindi quote of Sardar Patel, "There is something unique in this soil, which has always been the abode of great souls despite many obstacles."
The name of the Sports Complex is Sardar Patel Sports Enclave. Only the name of the Cricket Stadium, within the complex has been named after Narendra Modi.
— Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) February 24, 2021
Ironically, "The Family" , which never respected Sardar Patel, even after his death, is now making hue and cry. pic.twitter.com/DMmVtgxuzR
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Interstate cyber-fraud racket busted in UP's Baghpat, 7 held
Baghpat (PTI): An interstate cyber-fraud racket involved in duping people on the pretext of providing bank jobs was busted by police in this Uttar Pradesh district on Sunday with the arrest of seven people, including two women, officials said.
Police said the accused were running a fake call centre and luring job seekers from several states by issuing forged appointment letters and fabricated agreements in the name of bank recruitment, collecting large sums of money in return.
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Twelve mobile phones, two laptops, two SIM cards on fake names, several forged appointment letters and agreements, 15 bank passbooks, two chequebooks, UPI QR codes, ATM cards and 11 other cards were seized from the possession of the accused, police said, adding that the data of around 6,450 people from different states was found stored in the laptops.
According to the officials, the gang misused information obtained from online platforms, such as OLX and job-related websites, to target unsuspecting victims.
The racket was uncovered following complaints received on the Union home ministry's "Pratibimb" portal and subsequent technical surveillance.
Investigations revealed at least 20 complaints from various states, including Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Assam and Meghalaya.
The arrested accused were identified as Mohit Kumar, Puneet Kumar, Vardaan, Anuj Kumar and Akshay, besides the two women.
They were arrested at around 11:30 am from under the Eastern Peripheral Expressway in the Kotwali Baghpat area.
A case has been registered at the cyber crime police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and section 66D of the Information Technology Act, police said.
