Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar’s double-hundred against South Africa in Gwalior on Wednesday has not only silenced his critics, but also clean bowled the Shiv Sena, which took on the little master for his ‘Mumbai for all’ remark.
The same Shiv Sena, whose leaders questioned Tendulkar’s loyalty to Maharashtra following the remark, wants to felicitate the star for making Mumbai and the state proud. They also want the Centre to confer the Bharat Ratna on him.
On Friday, showering praise on the cricketing legend, the Shiv Sena leadership in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) decided to confer the star with a citizen’s award.
During BMC’s general body meeting, opposition leader Rajhans Singh (Congress) demanded Tendulkar’s felicitation to celebrate another world record set by him. Claiming that Tendulkar has made the city proud yet again, Sena leader Sunil Prabhu asked the civic body to make arrangements for a grand felicitation in the near future.
Not stopping at this, the Sena also supported a suggestion made by its ally, BJP, for setting up a gallery dedicated to the star in Mumbai. Prabhu, in fact, demanded that budgetary allocations to identify a place and set up a gallery showcasing the batsman’s achievements be made in the coming fiscal.
It was Ashish Shelar (BJP) who had demanded the setting up of the gallery. “Mumbai is known for various reasons, one of them is it being the city where Sachin stays. Across the world, galleries have been set up glorifying legendary sportspersons. A Sachin Tendulkar gallery will be a tourist attraction and the city’s pride,” he said.
The Sena rose in support for the call to confer a Bharat Ratna on the star.
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