Gogoi raps NDA's sports politics

Reward for State players clinching medals in SAG announced

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Feb 10: State Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has  contested the BJP’s claim that it does not do politics on sporting events, and said that ‘the official banner of the organizing committee of the South Asian Games does not have the photograph of State Sports Minister Ajit Singh, who is the cochairman of the committee. The picture of the chairman of the committee Sarbanda Sonowal is there. What does it mean?”

Talking to newsmen in the city today, Gogoi said: “Ajit Singh is a peace-loving minister, and for that he shouldn’t have been ignored. His photograph is there in the banner we’ve made from the Olympic Association of Assam. The official banner of the Games should have also contained his photograph. The ground reality is that the Centre under the NDA don’t want to thank us. Now we’re ready to hold the Under-17 Football World Cup in the State in 2017. Who made all these sports infrastructure?  The tiol Games, the Youth Festival etc., held in Assam were successful. The Indian Hockey Association is also keen to hold their events in the State. So far, the SAG is also successful. We hope, the remaining events of the Games will also be successful.”

Gogoi further said: “The NDA government doesn’t accord any importance on the ministers in the State. In the recent function to iugurate the Gas Cracker Project at Lepetkata in Dibrugarh no seating arrangement  made for State Industries Minister Siddeque Ahmed on the dais before the function. I had to take up the matter to get a seat for him on the dais. This is not all.  A meeting at IIT Guwahati in the presence of HRD Minister Smriti Irani, they were reluctant to give any seat on the dais for State Education Minister Sarat Barkataky. We had to take up that matter also.”

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister today announced cash rewards for players performing well in the SAG from the State. He said that any players from Assam clinching gold metal would be paid Rs 10 lakh, silver medal Rs 7 lakh and bronze medal Rs 5 lakh. 

So far, archers Masjyoti Changmai and Jayanta Talukdar and kho kho plater Supriya Gogoi clinched gold medals, all in team events.