Mumbai: Denied from making his maiden speech in Rajya Sabha on Thursday, Sachin Tendulkar delivered his Parliament speech on Facebook live on Friday. Shouting Congress MPs drowned him out in the Parliament. However, cricket legend posted a video on Facebook saying, “There were things that I wanted to say yesterday but couldn’t.” Sachin reiterated his wish to transform India from a sport-loving nation to a sport-playing nation.
He spoke of how fitness must be the primary priority of a young and developing India and how playing an active sport would help the nation achieve its fitness goal. “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 make my dream, our dream. Always remember, dreams do come true! Jai Hind,” the video caption says.
“I loved playing sport and cricket was my life. My father, professor Ramesh Tendulkar, was a poet and a writer. He always supported me and encouraged me to be what I wanted to be in life. The greatest gift I got from him was the freedom to play, the right to play.”
Adding further he said: “My vision is healthy and fit India…We are a diabetic capital of the world with over 75 million people affected by this disease. And when it comes to obesity, we are sitting at no.3 spot in the world. The economic burden of these diseases will not allow our nation to progress.”
“Humare fitness ke sessions light ho rahe hai and khane ke sessions thori heavy hote ja rahe hain, humein ye aadat badalni chahiye. (Our fitness sessions are declining while our food sessions are on the rise, we should change this habit). Many of us only discuss and don’t play at all. We need to transform India from a sport loving nation to a sport playing nation.”
