Khel Ratna Award renamed after Dhyan Chand; Congress says change stadium names too
New Delhi, Aug 6: India's highest sporting honour Khel Ratna Award, which was named after former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, was on Friday rechristened in the honour of hockey wizard Dhyan Chand following the admirable performance of both men's and women's hockey teams in the Tokyo Olympics.
While the ruling BJP hailed the announcement made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Home Minister Amit Shah calling it a true tribute to one of India's greatest sportspersons, the Congress too welcomed it but accused Modi of having "myopic political motive" and demanded that he should also change stadiums named after him and late BJP leader Arun Jaitley.
The prime minister tweeted that he had been getting many requests from citizens across India to name the Khel Ratna Award after Major Dhyan Chand.
"Respecting their sentiment, the Khel Ratna Award will hereby be called the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award! Major Dhyan Chand was among India's foremost sportspersons who brought honour and pride for India. It is fitting that our nation's highest sporting honour will be named after him," he tweeted.
The exceptional performance of the men's and women's hockey teams has captured the imagination of our entire nation, the prime minister said, adding that there is a renewed interest towards the sport that is emerging across the length and breadth of India.
This is a very positive sign for the coming times, he said.
The prestigious award carries a prize money of Rs 25 lakh.
At a press conference, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said his party welcomes the decision to name the award after the "the most celebrated sportsperson and hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand".
He then took a swipe at Modi for allegedly having "myopic political motive" in taking the decision.
"We sincerely hope Modi ji should not have used his myopic political motive to drag the name of a celebrated player like Major Dhyan Chand. Rajiv Gandhi ji is not known for any award; he is known for his sacrifice, for his ideas and for commitment to India and for his sacrifice for India and for the manner in which he transformed India in the 21st century," he said.
"We sincerely hope that now that a new beginning has been made, Modi ji will announce changing the name of Narendra Modi stadium and Arun Jaitley stadium and name them after legendary sportspersons like Milkha Singh, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, Leander Paes, P T Usha, Mary Kom, Abhinav Bindra and many many others," he added.
BJP leaders, however, hailed the move.
"Naming the country's highest sports honour in the name of the country's greatest sportsperson Major Dhyan Chand is a true tribute to him. The decision will make proud everyone associated with the sporting world," Shah said, praising Modi for the decision.
Lauding the commendable step, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said Dhyan Chand is a symbol of inspiration and pride for Indian sports persons.
BJP MP Gautam Gambhir, a member of two cricket world cup winning teams, said the Khel Ratna Award should have been named after a sport's personality when it was launched.
Our hockey teams have done so well, and the award should be named after whom if not a player, he said, asserting that only the Modi government could have taken a decision like this. "Entire country should support it," he said.
Attacking the government, Surjewala said it cut the sports budget by Rs 230 crore in an Olympic year and is now draw attention away from the core and fundamental issues of farmers, their agitation, "runaway" inflation and the Pegasus spyware issue.
While the men's hockey team won bronze, a medal finish for it in the Olympics after 41 years, the women's team also put up a remarkable show and finished fourth in Tokyo.
I have been getting many requests from citizens across India to name the Khel Ratna Award after Major Dhyan Chand. I thank them for their views.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 6, 2021
Respecting their sentiment, the Khel Ratna Award will hereby be called the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award!
Jai Hind! pic.twitter.com/zbStlMNHdq
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Markets rebound sharply on ceasefire between India, Pakistan: Sensex, Nifty surge over 3 pc
New Delhi, May 12 (PTI): Dalal Street investors became richer by Rs 16.15 lakh crore on Monday as markets skyrocketing nearly 4 per cent, after India and Pakistan announced reaching an understanding to stop all firings and military actions on land, air and sea.
Also, a trade agreement between the US and China added to the markets' optimism.
After starting the trade on an optimistic note, the 30-share BSE benchmark gauge Sensex further jumped 2,975.43 points or 3.74 per cent to settle at 82,429.90. During the day, it rallied 3,041.5 points or 3.82 per cent to a high of 82,495.97.
The market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms jumped by Rs 16,15,275.19 crore to Rs 4,32,56,125.65 crore (USD 5.05 trillion) in a single day.
"Confluence of positive geopolitical and economic developments — the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, coupled with a breakthrough trade agreement between the US and China — sparked the strongest daily market rally in recent times," Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited, said.
From the Sensex firms, Infosys jumped 7.91 per cent. HCL Tech, Tata Steel, Eternal, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, NTPC and Reliance Industries were the other major gainers.
Sun Pharma and IndusInd Bank were the only laggards from the blue-chip pack.
"Markets staged a sharp rebound on Monday, buoyed by easing geopolitical tensions after the India-Pakistan ceasefire. Benchmark indices posted their strongest single-day performance in over four years," Vikram Kasat, Head - Advisory at PL Capital, said.
The BSE smallcap gauge surged 4.18 per cent and midcap index jumped 3.85 per cent.
"Markets opened the week on a strong footing, rallying nearly 4 per cent, driven by supportive global and domestic cues. The key trigger was the announcement of a ceasefire between India and Pakistan over the weekend, signalling easing geopolitical tensions. Adding to the positive sentiment were encouraging updates on the US-China trade deal, which further boosted investor confidence as the session progressed," Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research at Religare Broking Ltd, said.
All sectoral indices ended higher. IT zoomed 6.75 per cent, BSE Focused IT (6.74 per cent), realty (5.87 per cent), metal (5.24 per cent), teck (5.21 per cent), utilities (5.07 per cent), power (4.82 per cent) and industrials (4.24 per cent).
"Indian equities made spectacular gains on Monday, with the Nifty soaring by a record 917 points to close at 24,925 - a seven-month high. The de-escalation in India-Pakistan tensions over the weekend has significantly helped calm investors' nerves and improve sentiments.
"On the global front, the US announced a headway in the trade negotiations with China, as both countries agreed to drastically roll back tariffs on each other's goods for an initial 90-day period," Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Research, Wealth Management at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said.
As many as 3,545 stocks advanced while 576 declined and 133 remained unchanged on the BSE.
