Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the dropping of Rajiv Gandhi’s name from Khel Ratha awards, the Maharashtra government, of which the Congress is a coalition partner, announced the setting up of an award in the name of the former prime minister.

The award that will be conferred on August 20 — the late Congress leader’s birth anniversary — every year, has been instituted to felicitate information technology (IT) organizations helping the society, reports PTI. A government order said the award commemorates the contribution of Rajiv Gandhi, who was prime minister from 1984 to 1989, in boosting the IT sector in India.

This year’s recipient will be selected by October 30, an official release said.

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Last week, PM Modi announced the renaming of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awards as `Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award’ in the memory of the hockey legend Dhyan Chand. The Prime Minister said he has received many “requests from citizens across India” for the same, and that he was “respecting their sentiments”.

In a tweet, PM Modi said, “Major Dhyan Chand was among India’s foremost sportspersons who brought honour and pride for India. It is fitting that our nation’s highest sporting honour will be named after him.”

The prestigious award comes along with a Rs 25 lakh cash reward.

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The Congress welcomed the move but called it ‘myopic politics’. The party hoped that the Prime Minister would rename stadiums that are in his name and in the name of former union minister Arun Jaitley after sportspersons such as Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, PT Usha etc.

In a cheeky comment, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh tweeted in Hindi, “First, Ahmedabad’s Sardar Patel Cricket Stadium was renamed as Narendra Modi Stadium. I was hoping that he (PM Modi) will rename Rajiv Gandhi Khel Award after himself. I was shocked when he named it after Major Dhyan Chand.” 

Another Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi tweeted, “Major Dhyanchand has inspired many young Indians. Our current Olympic teams will continue bringing the necessary attention to hockey. I hope the Government will also award the Bharat Ratna to Major Dhyanchand and rename Narendra Modi stadium to its original Sardar Patel Stadium.”