The development is a major boost for West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, who has been trying to expand her party's footprint beyond her native state.
'He was the one who set the agenda for the 1983 World Cup win with 89 in the first match against the West Indies, then top-scoring with 40 in the crucial match against Australia when we had to qualify for the semi-finals.' 'He played another brilliant innings of 61 against England in the semi-finals.'
Reacting to Kirti Azad's expose on the alleged DDCA scam, President Sneh Prakash Bansal has strongly refuted the charges saying that no company bill mentioned in the sting operation exists in the cricket body's transaction records.
Mamata said that she raised the issue of violence in Tripura in which TMC workers were allegedly assaulted by BJP workers.
Right from the great Muhammad Ali, who was an influential figure during the African-American Civil Rights Movement to Cte d'Ivoire footballer Didier Drogba, who had a major hand in bringing peace to his country, sports personalities across the world have always played huge roles in social and geopolitical movements. The scenario is no different in India, as a lot of sporting stars have taken the political plunge. Take a look at the sports personalities contesting in elections 2019.
Sinha hailed Kirti Azad as 'hero of the day', takes a dig at BJP saying 'party with a difference has become party with differences'.
Kabir Khan's '83 saw a grand premiere in Mumbai, attended by the film's star cast.
Slamming the national cricket team for yet another disastrous Test series loss abroad, former India cricketer Kirti Azad has questioned the passion of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men for longer version of the game as well as their commitment towards the nation.
'Two of your best players are not available for either of your series is really serious for India. They have been the mainstay of your Indian batting, and the board must find out where the problem is, if at all there is any, rather than its member tweeting that there might be a rift in the side. It is not good for the morale of the side and South Africa is a good team, especially when you are playing on good hard tracks. It's altogether different from playing in any part of the world. The wickets are different.'
Former players Bishan Singh Bedi and Kirti Azad today sought DDCA president Arun Jaitley's resignation for 'ruining Delhi's cricket' and his 'incapability and incompetence in handling the affairs of the DDCA.
Magical! When cricket meets cinema...
Addressing the meeting in support of BJP candidate from Rithala, Manish Chaudhary, Singh raised the pitch of nationalism as he linked opposition parties with anti-CAA protests in Shaheen Bagh and with alleged anti-India slogans, and then asked the crowd to raise the controversial slogan.
Cricketer-turned-politician Kirti Azad on Monday slammed the BCCI for handing out clean chits to Chennai Super Kings Team principal Gurunath Meiyappan and Rajasthan Royals franchise and its co-owner Raj Kundra in the IPL spot-fixing and betting scandal.
A team of officers from Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) visited Delhi and District Cricket Association headquarters in New Delhi on Monday and began investigation into the charges of alleged financial irregularities levelled by former India cricketer Kirti Azad.
Former cricketer and BJP MP Kirti Azad has said that mere resignations by the top officials of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will not clean the tainted image of Indian cricket, which has taken a beating in wake of the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) spot-fixing scandal.
With India's top politicians associated with the BCCI appearing to be divided over the fate of chief N. Srinivasan in wake of the spot-fixing scandal, former cricketer and BJP MP Kirti Azad on Wednesday said the Indian cricket board has become the biggest joke of the century, and added that the latest episode is one of the darkest phases of Indian cricket since its inception.
Opposition on Tuesday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has signalled to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to quit in the wake of DDCA row.
Former cricketer Kirti Azad on Sunday sat on a hunger strike, lambasting the "greed, lust for money and sleaze" in the IPL and demanded transparency in the cash-rich league's functioning.
Former cricketer and BJP MP Kirti Azad has come to the aid of actor Shah Rukh Khan over the Wankhede stadium incident saying the whole episode is a ploy to divert attention from the spot-fixing scandal.
Mamata's 'there is no United Progressive Alliance (UPA)' remark after a meeting in Mumbai with Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, an ally of Congress in Maharashtra, evoked a strong response from the party, currently being led by interim president Sonia Gandhi.
'Think big, go for it big from the beginning itself, stay focussed, dodge distractions; national interest is supreme; never forget your roots and sacrifices of your forebears. Yes, in life, be on the front foot, always.'
With Kapil Dev-like instinctive captain in Mahendra Singh Dhoni and champion batsman Sachin Tendulkar in their ranks, India are the hot favourites to win the Cricket World Cup starting in the sub-continent from February 19, says 1983 edition winning team-member Kirti Azad.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani was not amused with some of the party MPs joining RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and SP chief Mulayam Singh to hold a mock Parliament session and reprimanded his colleague Gopinath Munde for participating in it.
On this day in the year 1983, India lifted their first ever Cricket World Cup title, defeating West Indies by 43 runs at Lord's.
The 67-year-old Patel had played 21 Tests for India with little success but was a stalwart for Karnataka at the first class level.
Congratulatory messages poured in for 37-year-old Gambhir from fellow cricketers on social media.
'The decline of the Congress party and its inability to play the lead role in Opposition politics has created a space for the TMC to expand.'
Who should essay the characters of the other members of that history-making Indian squad?
Shatrughan Sinha and Kirti Azad certain to be axed along with Union minister R K Singh and former minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
"In May 2014, the BJP won 282 Lok Sabha seats. In four years, BJP government is down to 271, losing its simple majority in Lok Sabha minus its allies - considering the fact that PM Modi has suspended Kirti Azad and virtually disowned their most truthful, fiercely independent Patna Sahib MP," Surjewala tweeted.
India's 1983 World Cup hero Yashpal Sharma died on Tuesday after suffering a massive cardiac arrest in New Delhi.
The former cricketer was arrested on Tuesday in a narcotics case.
The former wicketkeeper replaces Brajesh Patel, who is undergoing treatment following a heart surgery.
Former India cricketer Kirti Azad on Saturday took a pot shot at the Indian Premier League and expressed concern at India's bowling strength going into the World Cup.
"The granting of the Freedom of the City of London recognises how they have added their voices to the growing global movement to stamp out racism."
The former India all-rounder supported outgoing coach John Wright's view that the selection committee should be accountable for its actions.
BCCI vice-president CK Khanna has written a letter to DDCA vice-president Chetan Chauhan to include newly appointed national selector Sarandeep Singh in the state selection panel, but Justice Mukul Mudgal made it clear that there was no question of any change. The 35-year-old Sarandeep, who played 3 Tests for India in 2001-02, appeared for an interview for the senior selector's post of DDCA but his candidature was rejected by the panel that included Vivek Razdan, Chetan Chauhan, Siddharth Verma and Salil Seth.
India's first World Cup-winning cricket captain Kapil Dev suffered a heart attack and underwent an angioplasty in New Delhi on Friday but is expected to be discharged in the next couple of days, said the hospital where he is currently admitted.
Suspended BJP MP Kirti Azad said Rio Olympics Organising Committee's warning that it will cancel the accreditation of Sport Minister Vijay Goel over his alleged violation of protocols is the "biggest insult" to the nation and had brought it a "bad name". Azad, a former international cricketer, also rejected the Ministry's claim that it was a case of misunderstanding, saying breaking protocols is a way of life for Indian politicians and there is no smoke without fire.
Former India cricketers Bishan Singh Bedi and Kirti Azad slammed the proxy voting system in the Delhi and District Cricket Association polls, saying it proved to be a major factor in their defeat.
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