Badminton star Saina Nehwal joins Bharatiya Janata Party
What's the story
Bharatiya Janata Party has inducted another high-profile name into its fold, as star shuttler Saina Nehwal joined the party on Wednesday, in the presence of National General Secretary Arun Singh. The 29-year-old, who was born in Haryana, has won over 24 international titles, clutched the bronze medal in London Olympics, and was ranked world's number 1 player in 2015 and number 2 in 2009.
Leaning
Saina has always been impressed by PM Modi
Saina's political plunge comes as a surprise, but she has always been an admirer of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In 2015, when she met him before his birthday, Saina was impressed with how much PM Modi knew about her family. His comprehensive knowledge of her game made Saina feel like he was a family member. She had gifted him a racket too.
Quote
PM Modi knows a lot about sports and sportspersons: Saina
"He is well versed about sports and sportspersons in India. He knows the projects being carried out in sports in our country. He also mentioned about the Sports Kumbh in Gujarat during his chief ministership," Saina said back then.
Troll
Saina got trolled for supporting PM Modi too
However, Saina's admiration for PM Modi landed her in controversies as well. Last year, she along with other known female personalities of India were trolled for putting out identical tweets praising him. "I thank @narendramodi for his initiative to honor and empower women this Diwali. Acknowledgement motivates us to work harder and make India proud. #bharatkilaxmi, (sic)" the tweet read.
Details
More recently, Saina was trolled after PM's Ramlila Maidan speech
Notably, Saina received flak from BJP critics after she praised PM Modi's Ramlila Maidan speech wherein he attempted to clear doubts about the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The law, which will make it easier for non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, to get Indian citizenship sparked widespread protests across India; and he said people with vested interests were spreading misinformation.
What she said
Saina was all praises for PM Modi and BJP
About her decision, Saina said, "BJP is working for the benefit of the country and I am happy to be a part of it." She also said the PM Modi has done a lot for Indian sports, "Narendra Modi Sir works so hard for the country, it is inspirational," she went on. Along with Saina, her sister Chandranshu also joined the saffron party.