Ahead of the 44th edition of the Chess Olympiad set to begin in Chennai on Thursday, July 28, BJP leaders in the state have been protesting the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s name and images in posters and events of the Tamil Nadu government publicising the event. BJP functionaries in Tamil Nadu were seen affixing portraits of Prime Minister Modi onto hoardings advertising the Chess Olympiad across Chennai, as part of the Tamil Nadu government's publicity campaign for the 44th Chess Olympiad. The posters originally only displayed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin’s image. This comes a day after several BJP functionaries walked out of a Chess Olympiad torch relay event on July 26, upset over PM Modi’s name not being mentioned at the event.
The 44th Chess Olympiad, to be held at Mamallapuram, starts on July 28 and ends on August 10. The state government has allocated Rs 92.13 crore for conducting the event. On Wednesday, July 27, BJP functionary from Tamil Nadu Amar Prasad Reddy shared a video on Twitter where he was seen pasting images of the Prime Minister on the Chess Olympiad posters along with two other persons, saying he wanted to remind CM Stalin that PM Modi is “the sole representative of this nation.”
In the video posted on Twitter, Amar Prasad Reddy, who is also the head of the BJP state Sports and Skill Development Cell, claimed that Tamil Nadu had the opportunity to host the Chess Olympiad because of the union government. He said the Chief Minister’s jurisdiction ends within Tamil Nadu and that the Chess Olympiad is an international event. He blamed the DMK government for going ahead with the campaign for the chess event without including PM Modi's photograph and termed it a 'huge mistake.' "This is not a DMK party function. This is a government (sponsored) event. Prime Minister's photograph must be featured," he said in the video clip. Amar Prasad Reddy also requested all the office bearers and heads of BJP’s Sports and Skill Development Cells across Tamil Nadu to paste images of Prime Minister Modi on the Chess Olympiad hoardings and posters.
Let me remind CM @stalin that our PM Sh. @narendramodi Avl is the sole representative of this Nation
— Amar Prasad Reddy (@amarprasadreddy) July 27, 2022
Here we begin!!!
Chess Olympiad 2022.@annamalai_k @blsanthosh @JPNadda pic.twitter.com/eKiMW8GmQ9
When asked by PTI if he has taken permission from authorities to fix the portraits of Modi on hoardings, he retorted: "Should the Prime Minister's photograph be a part of the campaign or not? Prime Minister Modi ji's portraits must definitely be part of the publicity campaign." When asked again, Reddy told PTI that he has not taken permission from authorities to stick Modi's photographs on billboards. He said he started fixing Prime Minister's portraits on hoardings on Wednesday.
Earlier on July 26, around 10 BJP functionaries walked out of a Chess Olympiad torch relay event held in Coimbatore. The BJP functionaries, who were seated in the front row, walked out in the middle of the event because the organisers and Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji, who participated in the event, did not mention Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s name.
PM Modi will be arriving in Chennai on July 28 to inaugurate the Chess Olympiad at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium. The inauguration ceremony will also be attended by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, Governor RN Ravi and Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur.
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial team event conducted over a two-week period. Participants from around 190 countries compete in the Olympiad. The Chess Olympiad was supposed to be held in Moscow between July 26 and August 8. However, the plan was changed after the Russia-Ukraine war. This would be the second major world event to be held in the country after the World Championship match in 2013 between Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen, the current world champion.
With powerhouses Russia and China missing, India will be fielding three teams each in the Open and women's sections respectively. The five-time world champion and legendary Viswanathan Anand has chosen not to play and donned the mentor's hat this time. The Indian 'A' team, seeded second behind the star-studded USA, is likely to be among the main challengers for the top prize along with Norway led by Carlsen, and Azerbaijan. The upcoming edition, which has attracted a record 188 teams in the Open section and 162 in the women's section, would also see six teams from India in the fray.
India, which won a bronze in the Open event in 2014 in Tromso, Norway, tied for gold with Russia in the 2020 online Olympiad and secured a bronze in the 2021 edition. The upcoming edition provides the Indians with a huge opportunity to claim the yellow metal in the over-the-board edition. Reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen has also spoken highly of the Indian players and felt the teams could be in the reckoning for medals
(With PTI inputs)