Trying to Shine in Reflected Glory

Abhinav Bindra wins a Gold at Olympics!

What followed?

• Chattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh announced Rs one lakh for Bindra.
• Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan came up with a reward of Rs five lakh for his "golden performance".
• Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh announced a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh for Bindra
• The Indian Cricket Board, the game's richest body in the world, announced a reward of Rs 25 lakh for Bindra
• Railway Minister Lalu Prasad announced a free lifetime pass for travel by AC first class for the shooter.
• The Haryana government has pitched in with Rs 25 lakh and the Chandigarh Administration has decided to reward him with Rs five lakh.

ALL the above have ZERO role to play in Abhinav's success. In all probability they wouldn't even be aware of Abhinav's participation or the event in which he particpated - in Olympics - until he won.

But, they want to shine in Reflected Glory! What has Chattisgarh got to do with Abhinav's success? And MP Chief Minister, since when did thy become a sports lover Mr Minister.

Their cheap antics are further exposed by the fact that - these so called political leaders do next-to-nothing to encourage sports in the country. They only know how to sit on the various sports federations and actively play politics there.