Renaming Khel Ratna award not people's wish, but 'political game': Shiv Sena
Mumbai, Aug 9: The Shiv Sena on Monday claimed the Centre's decision to rename the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award after hockey legend Dhyan Chand was not the people's wish, but a "political game".
An editorial in the Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' also asked what was Prime Minister Narendra Modi's contribution to cricket that a stadium (in Ahmedabad) was named after him.
India's highest sporting honour Khel Ratna Award, which was named after former PM 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.
Making the announcement, Prime Minister Modi said he had been getting many requests from citizens across India to name the Khel Ratna Award after Major Dhyan Chand.
On Monday, the editorial in 'Saamana' said late prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi were victims of terror acts. There could be political differences with leaders like them, but their sacrifices towards the country's development cannot be mocked, it opined.
"Changing the name of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award to Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award is not the people's wish, but a political game, it claimed.
"Major Dhyan Chand could have been honoured without insulting Rajiv Gandhi's sacrifice. But, the country has lost such tradition and culture. It would have made Dhyan Chand sad in heaven," the Sena said.
It said just because the Modi government changed the name of the award does not mean earlier governments had forgotten Dhyan Chand.
It is not a great honour for Dhyan Chand to use his name for the award by replacing it with the name of Rajiv Gandhi, who had made "supreme sacrifice for the country", the Sena said.
"Removing Rajiv Gandhi's name (from the award) is political hatred," it claimed.
The Marathi publication said the question raised by some BJP leaders about whether Rajiv Gandhi ever held a hockey stick in his hands was valid.
"People are also asking what Narendra Modi has done for cricket that a stadium in Ahmedabad is named after him by replacing the (earlier) name of Sardar Patel, it said.
The same yardstick should have be applied while renaming a Delhi stadium (Feroz Shah Kotla) after (late BJP leader) Arun Jaitely. People are also asking these questions, the Sena said.
The editorial also claimed that while the Modi government was celebrating India's wins at the just-concluded Olympic Games, it had cut down the sports budget by Rs 300 crore.
When the Sahara Group withdrew sponsorship of the men's and women's hockey teams, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik accepted their guardianship, it stated.
"Hence, the Odisha government's contribution is equally important in the (men's) hockey team's win (at the Olympics)," it added.
When Khashaba Jadhav had won the first individual Olympic medal (bronze) for the country, why no one thought of setting up a 'Khel Ratna' award in his name? the Sena asked.
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Trump says EU has until July 4 to approve last year's trade deal or it will face higher tariffs
Washington (AP): President Donald Trump has said in a social media post that goods from the European Union would face higher tariff rates if the 27-member bloc fails to approve last year's trade framework by July 4.
The announcement on Thursday appeared to be a deadline extension after the president said last Friday that EU autos would face a higher 25 per cent tariff starting this week. Trump made the updated announcement after what he described as a "great call" with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Still, the US president was displeased that the European Parliament had yet to finalize the trade arrangement reached last year, which was further complicated in February by the US Supreme Court ruling that Trump lacked the legal authority to declare an economic emergency to impose the initial tariffs used to pressure the EU into talks.
"A promise was made that the EU would deliver their side of the Deal and, as per Agreement, cut their Tariffs to ZERO!" Trump posted. "I agreed to give her until our Country's 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels."
It was unclear from the post whether Trump was implying that the tariff rates would jump on all EU goods or the increase would only apply to autos.
His latest statement indicates he might be backing away from his earlier threat on EU autos by giving the European Parliament several more weeks to approve the agreement.
Under the original terms of the framework, the US would charge a 15 per cent tax on most goods imported from the EU.
But since the Supreme Court ruling, the administration has levied a 10 per cent tariff while investigating trade imbalances and national security issues, aiming to put in new tariffs to make up for lost revenues.
