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Politics

Podium at Official Event Felicitates Oversized Modi for Olympics, Medal Winners Also Feature

Several people remarked how the poster made it seem like Modi himself had won the medals.

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New Delhi: Several people were bemused – even if not surprised – that the Indian government’s official event to felicitate medal winners at the Tokyo Olympics looked like a PR exercise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The stage for the event was carried a large banner congratulating the winners – but the biggest photo on the banner was Modi’s. Smaller images of the winners in a cluster were also featured.

Several people took to social media to point out that the banner made it seem like Modi himself had brought back all the medals, and the players involved were secondary.

India won a total of seven medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics – one gold, two silver and four bronze.

Recently, the Modi government renamed the Khel Ratna award, previously named after former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, after hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand. Many sportspersons welcomed this decision, saying it was better that the award be named after a sportsperson rather than a politician.

However, some also pointed out how the Union government doesn’t have quite the same attitude when it comes to names of BJP leaders – with the recently revamped and renamed Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad being just one example.