Legendary athlete Milkha Singh’s wife Nirmal Kaur and his U.S.-based daughter have joined the Aam Aadmi Party, but the ‘Flying Sikh’ himself wants to stay away from politics.
Nirmal Kaur, also a yesteryear sportsperson, and her daughter Mona Singh have filled the membership form of Arvind Kejriwal’s party. Mr. Singh said that he respects their decision.
“Yes, they joined the AAP. They filled the form yesterday [Friday]. Both have said that they were impressed with the aims and objectives of the party and with Arvind Kejriwal’s work,” Mr. Singh told PTI in Chandigarh on Saturday.
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Asked if he too intended joining the AAP or any other party, Mr. Singh, who represented the country in three Olympics and won four gold medals in the Asian Games of 1958 and 1962, said: “I could have joined politics during Nehru’s or Indira Gandhi’s time. I don’t want to. I stay away from these things.”
But although Mr. Singh wants to stay away from politics, he feels cricketer Sachin Tendulkar should be appointed Sports Minister of the country as he understands the problems faced by sportspersons, and can raise the overall standard of sports.
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Mr. Singh said that over the years, he had been demanding that the government acknowledge the contribution of sportspersons.
“Why can’t Tendulkar or P.T. Usha be appointed as Governors and Ambassadors,” he wondered.