MP CM's remarks on politicians in sports bodies embarrasses BJP

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's remarks that politicians should not head sports bodies today put the BJP in an embarrassing situation as several of its prominent leaders are members of various boards and games federations.

"Many a times what a politician says may be a suggestion for action. Moreover, political leaders mostly participate in games bodies as sports enthusiasts and not as politicians," BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said when asked about
Chouhan's statement.

Earlier, Chouhan, who met Union sports minister MS Gill here and handed him a cheque of Rs1 crore for the Indian women's hockey team said, "Unfortunately there is too much politics in sports in our country. Sports bodies have become politicised and I think that politicians should not be heading sports bodies."

Several BJP leaders are part of sports bodies. Arun Jaitley is vice-president of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), VK Malhotra is with Indian Olympic Association, Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur is with the Himachal Cricket Association, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi is part of the Gujarat Cricket Association while Darbhanga MP Kirti Azad is member of The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA).

Prasad argued that politicians bury their ideological differences and set aside their political affiliations to participate in sports bodies.

"Arun Jaitley (BJP) and Rajiv Shukla (Congress) work together in BCCI while Suresh Kalmadi (Cong) and V K Malhotra (BJP) function amiably in IOA," he said.