PANJIM: Internationally renowned tennis player Leander Paes, the only Indian sportsperson to compete in seven Olympics, joined the Goa Trinamool Congress in the presence of All India Trinamool Congress chairperson and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday.
Addressing the media after his induction into TMC, Paes thanked Banerjee and said, “Decades ago, when I was a kid, Didi encouraged me to play for the country when she was the Union Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs. Now, I have retired from tennis but want to serve the people through the vehicle of politics to make a difference.”
Speaking on his Goan connect, Paes said that though he was born in Bengal, Goa is now his home. “I feel responsible for the whole country and want to start by working for Goans in Goa,” he added.
“I now live in Goa. I was born in Bengal but end of the day I am a patriotic India. For me it’s about doing India proud. Didi’s vision is to make India, the largest democracy, a successful nation. I would like to do my bit for India,” Paes said.
Banerjee welcomed the sports icon and said, ‘Leander Paes is like my younger brother. I am very happy today. Leander’s entry into TMC will encourage a lot of youngsters to come forth.”
Paes won the Arjuna Award in 1990, he won India’s highest sporting honour, Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award in 1996-1997, the Padma Shri Award in 2001 and India’s third-highest civilian award, the Padma Bhushan in January 2014.
Notably, Paes won a bronze for India in men’s singles at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He also has five gold and two bronze Asian Games medals to his name and has won eight men’s doubles and 10 mixed doubles Grand Slam titles.
Earlier, noted activist Nafisa Ali and Mrinalini Deshprabhu, daughter of former MLA Jitendra Deshprabhu officially joined TMC.
‘Maximum tickets to women, youth’
Trinamool Congress Party (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee on Friday said her party will give maximum tickets to women and youth in the ensuing Goa Assembly elections.
Addressing the media, Banerjee said she will be happy if taxi drivers, farmers and fishing community also contest the elections.
Asked about forging a pre-poll alliance with other political parties, she said, “TMC is open to alliance but our past experience is that alliances don’t work. However, it will be a collective decision and nothing can be said at this point of time. We will also declare Chief Ministerial face at the right time.”
“Let Goa run from Goa. It is not that Delhi ka laddu aayega aur Delhi ka ladoo chalayega.We will let Goa to rule itself unlike how Goa is ruled by Delhi today. Goa should become self-reliant and we will help Goa to achieve this by putting system and mechanism in place. I want Goa to smile. We want to see a strong Union of States. We want to see a strong federal structure,” she said.
“Goa is a beautiful State. In its 60th year of liberation let this year be celebrated as a new dawn of Goa. Let the sun rise. Let the sun shine. Let the people smile. Goa has everything. Fishing to tourism, to mining, to sea so many things. But nobody cares. It is neglected now. Nobody is there to take care of the people. Promises of the manifesto should be fulfilled,” she said
Alleging that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government could not manage the economy well, Banerjee said, “Goa’s economy has been mismanaged. In West Bengal we succeeded in reducing unemployment by 40 per cent while in Goa subsidy given to fishermen has been reduced. Export has stopped. We wish Goa to smile.”
Reacting to defacement of TMC posters and banners, Banerjee said that the BJP has no culture. Culturally they are very poor. But people of Goa are cultured. We are not going to haul or fight the battle physically. We will fight the battle democratically and we will defeat them,
To a question, the West Bengal Chief Minister said that the “Sarkar Tumchya Daari” (government at your doorsteps) programme started by the BJP government in Goa was copied from Trinamool Congress. However, she said there is a difference in copying and in actual implementation. “There is no problem in copying but we have implemented it West Bengal successfully. Tell them (BJP) to implement it. Our credibility is our commitment.”
Banerjee said that the TMC will frame a policy to restart mining activity in the State and added that more needs to be done in the tourism sector, which the main sector of the State.
