Sporting greats join Milkha in chorus

A day after Milkha Singh told The Indian Express about politicians ‘‘totally ignoring’’ sportspersons in the nomination ...

A day after Milkha Singh told The Indian Express about politicians ‘‘totally ignoring’’ sportspersons in the nomination to the Rajya Sabha, he received huge support from within the sporting fraternity. There was a general consensus among former India players that sports issues were not addressed whole-heartedly in the Parliament and proper representation in the Upper House could go a long way in improving things.

Meanwhile, Milkha got support from former Indian cricket captain and the chairman of the Arjuna Awardees’ Association (AAA) Bishan Singh Bedi after he called him this evening. ‘‘Bedi is very much in favour of what I’ve said and even invited me to Delhi so that we both can go and meet the Prime Minister,’’ he said. Milkha also added that he had advised the cricket great to first write a letter to the Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani in the capacity of AAA chairman. ‘‘Like I did today, Bishan too will write a letter to Advaniji and then decide the future course of action,’’ said Milkha.

Commenting on the pressures on politicians in the nominations he said, ‘‘There are only seven-eight seats in the offing so obviously there must be a great deal of pressure on the government from all quarters and many chief-ministers might be after them (govt.) to put forward their respective cases. However, this shouldn’t mean that they should ignore sportspersons,’’ he says.

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Meanwhile, Milkha in his faxed letter to Advani referred to the Article 80 (b) (3) of the Constitution which says that ‘‘the members to be nominated by the President shall consist of persons having special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as literature, art, science, and social service.’’

Milkha in his letter says that ‘‘the word art used in the Constitution has been purposely used to cover a wide field and sports surely comes under the wide ambit of this word.’’

‘It’s time we get represented in Parliament’

• Milkha Singh has made a valid point and I endorse it. Sportspersons of merit really deserve such honour as they have a lot to contribute to the society. People like Milkha Singh himself, Sunil Gavaskar and Prakash Padukone to name a few have gone through the grind of sport as in life and they should be looked upto especially when the Rajya Sabha consists of people from the field of arts, culture, films, literature and the like. The failure to nominate a sportsperson over the years shows neglect towards the sporting fraternity. In fact, we do have sportspersons of repute who are already ambassadors in their own way for the country.
— Geet Sethi, twice amateur billiards world champion and four-time professional billiards world Champion

• It’s high time we did have representation. Sports definitely ‘has not’ been the government’s priority. With India beginning to stamp their authority ‘regularly’ on the world front I think the government should wake up and have our sports representation. With no one to push our claims the fraternity, I feel, has received a raw deal. With the laurels sports has brought home the government ought to do something.
— Prakash Padukone, All-England badminton champion

• I’m glad that Milkha Singh has said what he has. There are enough and more sportspersons who can serve the cause of sport well in Parliament. If filmstars can be nominated, I can’t think of any reason why sportspersons cannot find themselves in the Rajya Sabha. I personally think they will do a lot for improving sports — specially when it comes to clearing teams, selection procedures and improving infrastructure in the country.
— Joaquim Carvalho, former Indian hockey captain

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• Certainly, sportspersons can act as they are the ideal idols for the young generation. They can also help in the betterment of the sport scene in India as they know the nitty gritties
— Kamlesh Mehta, eight-times national TT champion

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