Rajnath Singh praises Narendra Modi

NEW DELHI: BJP President Rajnath Singh today heaped praise on the party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, saying his capabilities as a leader are recognised across the world.


"We have chosen the most popular leader in the country as our candidate for the PM's post. His work is recognised not only in India but across the world," he said at a meeting of party's Sports Cell.

Noting that sports need a sound government policy which was lacking presently, he said his party would give it special attention and come out with a detailed policy for its promotion if voted to power.

"We will have to acknowledge that sports has been neglected in India since Independence. We will have to change it," he said at the event in which several sportspersons were honoured.

"Our dream of becoming a superpower cannot be realised without the country excelling in sports," he said.

He cited the success of countries like the US, China, Japan and Germany in Olympics to stress that overall development of a nation goes hand-in-hand with excellence in sports.

Taking a dig at the UPA government over the Commonwealth Games "scam", he said it brought disrepute to the country.

Singh, however, praised sportspersons for their performance and said it came as a relief to the country which was embarrassed due to the revelations of the scam which, he said, was pegged at worth Rs 7000 cr by CAG.

Recalling his tenure as UP Chief Minister during which he actively "encouraged" sportspersons and gave government jobs to many of them, he said some of them are serving at senior positions.

Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, who had bagged silver medal in shooting in the 2004 Olympics and had recently joined the BJP, was also present on the occasion.