[Reader-list] "It could have happened the other way round, " the officials maintained.

[Shivam Vij]

Modi blind to glory of Pathans

Express news service
Wednesday, September 26, 2007 at 12:00:00
Vadodara, September 25
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Modi-blind-to-glory-of-Pathans/221104/

While Indians across the world can't seem to have enough of the
Twenty20 World Cup victory at Johannesburg on Monday night, it seems
Chief Minister Narendra Modi thinks otherwise. Even as every other
state is announcing rewards for its boys in the winning team, the
Chief Minister's office has not even bothered to issue a press release
in honour of the Vadodara siblings, one of whom walked away with the
Man of the Match award in the deciding game.

On a day when the governments of Delhi, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka,
Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra announced awards for their boys in the
team, the CM remained busy meeting industrialists and MLAs in the
Secretariat. His officials maintained that — "There is nothing great
about the victory. It could have happened the other way round!"

With the Congress party announcing that it would felicitate the Pathan
brothers, the Chief Minister keeping mum, might snowball into a
political controversy.

Congress spokesman Shaktisinh Gohil said that Irfan played a big role
in the Indian team's win and he should be lauded in an equally big
way. Taking a dig at Modi for his selective praise for achievers,
Gohil said that the CM believes that there is no Gujarati bigger than
him. "Be it Sunita Williams or Irfan, Modi is never happy. That is why
his government did not announce anything for the Pathan brothers. But
we will do it for them," he said.

Vadodara corporator Nafisa Kapadia has called upon the CM to respond
in a positive way.