Congress Leaders Slam BJP After Motera Stadium In Ahmedabad Renamed After PM Modi

After the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad was named after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leaders were quick to attack the BJP.

Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi said,"Beautiful how the truth reveals itself.Narendra Modi stadium
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Congress leader Jaiveer Shergill tweeted ,"Is Mahatma Gandhi Ji's photo on the currency note staying or being replaced? #AskingforaFriend who is an ardent follower of Sardar Patel Ji".

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said,"Advaniji must be regretting why he hasn't named something but Modiji is wise and know that after the government goes nobody will name anything after him so he renamed Sardar Patel Stadium on his name."

The Congress's attack comes in wake of Sardar Patel (Gujarat) Stadium in Motera near Ahmedabad on Wednesday being renamed as the Narendra Modi Stadium.

It began hosting its first international cricket match on Wednesday with India taking on England in a day-night Test match.

Responding to the criticism Union Minister Prakash Javadekar quipped, “The name of the Sports Complex is Sardar Patel Sports Enclave. Only the name of the Cricket Stadium, within the complex has been named after Narendra Modi. Ironically, "The Family" , which never respected Sardar Patel, even after his death, is now making hue and cry.”

The stadium's new name was announced during an inauguration ceremony that was attended by President Ram Nath Kovind, Home Minister Amit Shah, Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju, Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat, and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Jay Shah among others.

The stadium is located within the larger Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave which will have facilities for Olympic sports. Among the facilities that are set to be included in the enclave in addition to the cricket stadium is a multi-purpose stadium for athletics and football, a hockey stadium and outdoor practice fields. The enclave is also slated to include a host of indoor facilities including a swimming pool and velodrome along with facilities for beach volleyball and a boating centre.

The Narendra Modi Stadium surpasses the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Australia as the world's largest cricket stadium. The MCG has a maximum seating capacity of 1,00,024. It is also the second largest stadium in the world overall, behind Rungrado 1st of May stadium in Pyonyang, North Korea which has an estimated capacity of nearly 1,15,000.

With IANS Inputs