Sachin Tendulkar on Monday began a new innings as member of parliament, but fumbled while taking oath in front of vice-president Hamid Ansari. Tendulkar had the option of taking oath in English, Hindi or Marathi. He chose Hindi.
The Master Blaster struggled to read the section that stated: “…that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India.” He began his oath well with the lines “...Mein Bharat ki prabhota aur akhandta...” but then halted before completing the sentence by saying “akhshun rakhunga.” According to the oath, he should have said “akhandta rakhunga” (will uphold), but he got confused with the words “akhandta” and “akshun.”
Tendulkar, who became the first active sportsperson to enter Parliament, told reporters that he would like to be remembered as someone who contributed to the country and not as someone with great cricket statistics. “I will be happy if I’m remembered as someone who contributed towards sports in India. That would be fantastic.
“In the last 22 years of my international career, cricket has given me so much. Today with the nomination, I am in a better position not only to help cricket but also other sports,” he said while pointing out that he may face a few obstacles along the way.
“It is here that I will need help from my fellow parliamentarians, the administrators, the media and our countrymen. Together we can make a lot of changes,” he added.
“I did not go to anyone asking to be a Rajya Sabha member. It is an honour and I accept that with respect. However, I am here because of cricket. I cannot take focus away from cricket because that’s where it all began for me,” said Tendulkar after he was asked how he would take time out for Parliament from his busy cricket schedule.
“I will focus on cricket and as and when I stop playing, I will look at other things and see how I can help,” he added.
