Then Sportspersons & Now MPs asked only 8 questions related to Sports

• Rakesh Dubbudu

There are currently 4 MPs in the Parliament who were sportspersons in the past.  Two of them are in the Lok Sabha and two in the Rajya Sabha. Together, they have asked only 8 questions related to sports and none of them is a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on sports.

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After the Indian contingent’s disappointing performance in the Rio Olympics, the focus is now on sports infrastructure and state support for sport. There is nobody better than those Members of Parliament (MPs) who have been sportspersons in their past, to raise relevant questions about the status of sports in the country inside the Parliament. We look the questions asked by these MPs and if they are related to sports.

Kirti Azad – Lok Sabha

A total of 460 questions have been asked by various MPs relating to the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports in the 16^th Lok Sabha. Former Cricketer Kirti Azad of BJP asked 4 of these 460 questions. His 4 questions on sports are the following

• About mismanagement of Hockey
• About Promotion of Sports among disabled
• About Financial Assistance to Sports
• About Irregularities in BCCI/IPL

Three of these questions were asked along with other MPs while the fourth one was asked only by him. Kirti Azad has asked a total of 271 questions so far in the 16^th Lok Sabha out of which 4 are related to sports.

Prasun Banerjee – Lok Sabha

Prasun Banerjee was a former India Football player and a Trinamool Congress MP. He hasn’t asked a single question in the 16^th Lok Sabha till date.

Sachin Tendulkar – Rajya Sabha

Former India Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar asked 14 questions in the Rajya Sabha till date. Only 4 out of these 14 are related to sports. The questions raised by him about sports are the following.

• About employment for ex sportspersons
• About Sports as compulsory subject
• About utilisation of stadiums and sports grounds
• About Yoga and sports as subject in schools

M C Mary Kom – Rajya Sabha

Olympic Bronze Medalist & Boxer M C Mary Kom was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in April 2016 and since then, she hasn’t asked any question.

None of these MPs are members of the Standing Committee on Sports

None of these 4 MPs are the members of the Standing Committee on Sports. While Kirti Azad is a member of the Standing Committee on Rural Development, both Prasun Banerjee & Sachin Tendulkar are members of the Standing Committee on Information Technology. M C Mary Kom is a member of the Standing Committee on Health & Family Welfare.