We must stop pandering to politicians’ fragile egos

President Ram Nath Kovind and Union Home Minister Amit Shah interact with Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad. Pic/AFP

India's big Test win comes amidst a simmering controversy about the Motera cricket stadium being named the Narendra Modi stadium. It is housed within the Sardar Patel complex, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed.

The knives though were out for the ruling party with the BJP being accused of disrespect and the PM of megalomania. Some said the stadium should have been retained simply as Motera stadium, while others said it could have been named after somebody else. All in all, the name blame game, fame and shame rigmarole began again.

We need a policy of infra projects and stadia not being named after political leaders. In this case, maybe a cricketer would have been apt. Or, we could have left it as just Motera Stadium. The prime minister himself should have insisted that he does not want the stadium named after him. Maybe, we need to relook at every single facility or amenity and have a blanket policy that it will take the name of the area, or maybe a defence hero, though if politicians want to create problems, they can rake up anything at all.

Enough time and energy has been wasted on fracas about naming facilities rather than what should have been our focus: top class workmanship, safety of our labour force, vision for the future and sticking to the timeline. Instead, we see endless debates about who a project should be named after, protests and defensive statements after it has been done.

The result is a shift from the things that truly matter to a focus on inanities and things that get into the spotlight because of the storm.

Let us truly bring about change and if our leaders claim they work for the people, then, they themselves must have the courage to bring this about.