TN: With Centre’s Zero Stakes in The Chess Olympiad, Is Modi’s Image Necessary?
Promotional event for 44th Chess Olympiad. Image credit: ANI
Tamil Nadu: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the world’s biggest chess event – the 44th International Chess Olympiad – at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai on July 28 evening.
The union government has no direct claims in the sporting event, yet the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government in Tamil Nadu invited PM Modi to inaugurate the event. The DMK has been vocal about its opposition to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led government's policies, and the decision did not go down well with many.
DMK leaders and state officials invited Modi to the Chess Olympiad.
Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu Congress boycotted the inaugural ceremony of the Chess Olympiad as a mark of protest against the Centre’s “anti-democratic activities”.
Moreover, the hashtag #Goback_Modi was trending from early evening on July 28 on Twitter.
‘Why Add Modi’s Photo?’
Amar Prasad Reddy, president of the sports and skill development cell of the BJP in Tamil Nadu, and a couple of his supporters pasted PM Modi’s photo on the Olympiad’s billboards in Chennai on July 27. Originally, the billboards only had photos of Chief Minister MK Stalin.
Reddy said that the Chess Olympiad, to be held at Mamallapuram, was arranged by the Central government, and Tamil Nadu was only hosting the event. His claim, however, is factually wrong. The Government of India is not a stakeholder in the 44th Chess Olympiad.
A day later, on July 28, Reddy shared a Tweet saying that the Tamil Nadu government made it mandatory for PM Modi’s image to be present in all the hoardings related to the Olympiad. The DMK government allegedly changed 12,000 hoardings with immediate effect.
BJP cadre after Modi’s image was added to the billboards.
BJP functionaries also walked out from the Olympiad’s Torch rally event on July 25 as the event organisers and the Tamil Nadu Minister did not cite or use PM Modi's name in their speech.
Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) vice president Vazhapadi Rama Suganthan tweeted, “when the TN government is footing the bill for chess olympiad, why BJP members are pasting stickers of PM Modi on the advertisements? Guests cannot become the groom”.
He shared the letter sent from the Tamil Nadu government to the President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) which read “we assure that the Organisers will cover all expenses (within 10 million dollars) provided for by the Regulations of the Olympiad and Congress”.
The Tamil Nadu government has sanctioned Rs 92 crore for the Olympiad which is the world’s biggest chess event.
CONGRESS ATTACKS DMK GOVT
The DMK government is being criticised for going soft on the BJP and not sufficiently opposing the BJP-led central government.
Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president K S Alagiri criticised the state police for not acting against BJP members who stuck the images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the state government’s publicity billboards for the Chess Olympiad.
“Are the TN police afraid of arresting the BJP functionaries?” asked Alagiri.
On the other hand, Chennai City Police arrested Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam cadres who sprayed black paint over PM Modi’s picture on a Chess Olympiad banner in Chennai.
Screenshot of a video of DK cadre spraying paint on Modi’s photo
“The DMK which was vociferous in its protests against Modi when they were in opposition is crawling after it came to power” tweeted Journalist Savukku Shankar.
‘Centre Has No Stake’
The Chess Olympiad event is jointly organised by the FIDE, All India Chess Federation (AICF) and the Government of Tamil Nadu.
The FIDE website states that the Government of Tamil Nadu is the host and primary sponsor of the Olympiad. The Federation acknowledged the role of the state government and AICF in making the Olympiad possible within a matter of four months.
From the FIDE website
A report released on the FIDE website on April 1 read, “The Government of Tamil Nadu and Honourable Chief Minister Thiru M.K. Stalin along with the team at AICF carried out tremendous efforts to bring the FIDE 44th World Chess Olympiad 2022 to India”.
The Chess Olympiad is scheduled till August 10. Over 2,000 chess players from 187 countries are set to take part in the event.
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