Dear Mr Rajyavardhan Rathore, Did You Win Silver for UPA in 2004?

The government has also divided every achievement between ‘us’ (NDA) and ‘them’ (UPA) in last four years.

In 2004, did you win the silver medal for India or for the UPA government?

(Photo Courtesy: Arnica Kala/The Quint)

Reader’s Blog.

Dear Mr Rathore,

It makes every citizen proud when his country climbs the ladder of achievements. Every Indian would be proud if India performs outstandingly in medal tally in an international tournament, be it Commonwealth or Olympics. I was not surprised when the ministry of sports issued a circular to sports federations in India, comparing the number medals won by athletes during the BJP government with the number during the Congress-led UPA government.

I am perfectly aware of the strategy of divisive politics of the party you represent. It is historically proven that the divide between Hindu-Muslim, Dalit-Brahmin, Tribal-Non Tribal, electorally feeds the party you represent. The government has also divided every achievement between ‘us’ (NDA) and ‘them’ (UPA) in the last four years.

The only thing that was left was sports but you did not even spare that. What shocked me was that this circular was issued on your orders. No one other than you would know that the medals which athletes win at international games are a result of decades of relentless hard work and persistent zeal, and they are not won for the Congress or the BJP.

PV Sindhu carries India’s national flag during the 21st Commonwealth Games opening ceremony.(Photo: AP)

The victory of athletes is in the country’s name and I as citizen of India name and shame any bid to politically take advantage of the achievements of our athletes.

What is more disturbing is that even after such uproar in media, neither you nor your government apologised or revoked the circular. Mr Rathore, I believe it could have been better if you had sought information regarding facilities you have provided to sportspersons which the UPA failed to provide.

A few months before the 2016 Rio Olympics, caught in the crossfire between the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and various sports federations, our athletes were in dire need of food supplements. Since October 2015, athletes at national camps have been denied dietary supplements. Several of them had already qualified for the games.

Your government could’ve proposed that you’ve provided better dietary supplements to our athletes. Your government could’ve proposed revival of all the stadiums and worn out tracks for the better training of the athletes.

Dipa Karmakar. (Photo: Facebook/Dipa Karmakar)

The Sports Administration of India (SAI) had refused to send Dipa Karmakar’s physiotherapist to the 2016 Rio Olympics while 65 Indian officials flew to Rio first class. Their claim was that a physiotherapist was “wasteful” and “unnecessary”. Eventually, Dipa created history by becoming the first Indian to qualify for a final in Olympic gymnastics. Following this, the government was pressured to fly her physiotherapist at the last minute before the final round took place. She finished 4th. Had your ministry arranged for the physiotherapist from the beginning, she could have won a medal.

Sir, you were given independent charge of the ministry of youth affairs and sports in light of the fact that you’ve been an athlete, and would thus work for their betterment. Sadly, two major sports bills, that is the National Sports Development Bill and the Prevention of Fraud in Sports are still pending in Parliament.

We are still waiting for these bills to develop into effective laws which would bring in a sports revolution and usher in dynamic changes in sports governance in the country. We expected that a minister who is a former athlete would live up to the expectations of every athlete but all we got was sycophancy towards the prime minister.

After the army's cross border operation in Myanmar, you chose #56inchRocks as the hashtag for all your tweets on the subject, stressing that the action was possible because of the prime minister's courage. You have also been trying to direct the credit for India's performance at the Commonwealth Games at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's doors on Twitter.

I would just like to conclude with a few questions. In 2004, did you win the silver medal for India or for the UPA government? What did it feel like standing on the podium having won a silver medal for India at the Olympics with the national flag around your shoulders and national anthem playing in the background? Would you have felt the same feeling of pride with a flag of the Congress around your shoulders?

Yours Sincerely,
Vivashwan Singh

(The writer is a graduate student. This is a personal blog and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)