A day after being muzzled at the Rajya Sabha, Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar took to Facebook on Friday to give his message.
"It is my endeavour to transform India from being a sport loving nation to a sport playing nation. I urge you all to participate in this effort and help make my dream, our dream. Always remember, dreams do come true! Jai Hind," Sachin wrote.
Citing the increasing number of cases of Diabetes and other diseases, mostly because of sedentary lifestyle of Indians, Sachin says, "My vision is a healthy and young India. We need to transform India from a sport loving nation to sport playing nation."
Sachin lauded the sports culture of North-East India while mentioning the names of Mary Kom, Dipa Karmakar and Bhaichung Bhutia.
Talking about his personal career, the legendary cricketer said," Not always did I succeed, there were occasions when I failed but sports taught me to get back on my feet and compete in the fairest possible manner."
He recalls some lines said by his late father in the Facebook video.
"We must build a sporting culture in our country otherwise a young unfit India is a recipe for disaster," says Sachin.
On Thursday, the former cricketer failed to get going in his maiden chance to initiate a discussion in the Rajya Sabha.
As the House met at 2 PM after an earlier adjournment, a combative Congress buoyed by the verdict in the 2G case continued its protest demanding an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remarks against predecessor Manmohan Singh during the Gujarat election campaign.
However, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu was keen that a short duration discussion on 'the right to play and future of sports in India', to be initiated by Tendulkar, be taken up.
The BJP-led government attacked the Congress for disrupting Sachin's speech in the Rajya Sabha, saying the opposition party has lost its "direction and plot after change in its leadership".
Bowlers of opponent teams were unable to stop Sachin from making runs during his cricketing career, but unfortunately today in the Upper House the members of the Congress party stalled his maiden speech, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar told reporters on Thursday.
"The Congress today behaved in an undemocratic manner in the Upper House by disrupting Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar from speaking on the important and non-political issue of sports and its development in the country," Kumar said on Thursday.
(With PTI inputs)
