May 7, 2015
Nadimul Haque demands creation of special category under Arjuna Awards for the differently-abled | Full Transcript
Full Transcript
Sir, recently our country has lost a brilliant sportsperson in the form of Masudur Rahman Baidya, who was not only an exceptional swimmer but also an inspiration and hope for millions of people. Despite being differently-abled, he has shown the world that if you have the will power, you can dominate millions of hearts.
A person with double amputation below the knee, he has conquered the English Channel in 1997, the Strait of Gibraltar in 2001 and the Palk Strait in July 2010. He certainly deserves special recognition from the country. We, as a country, have not been much generous towards differently-abled sportspersons.
The efforts one undertakes to be in the field, whatever it be, need special applaud from us who enjoy that tremendous performance. The ace swimmer had said in last December that we are a part of society, given the responsibility, we too can deliver, just like we are doing at various disabled games.
Sir, the West Bengal Government and, specially, our Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, has taken various initiatives for the recognition of differently-abled sportspersons. She has also expressed her solidarity with the family of Masudur Rahman Baidya, who passed away on 26th April at the age of 46 years.
Through this august House, we demand from the Government that there should be a special category of Arjuna Awards for differently-abled athletes and sportspersons, and it should be named after Masudur Rahman Baidya.
Sir, this special recognition will inspire several differentlyabled brothers and sisters, and they will get encouragement and special recognition while living their dreams to play the game, be it any game.
