Poland walk in giants' footsteps - UEFA
On Monday evening, the Poland squad visited the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw where they took in the Great Football Exhibition, including a fascinating collection curated by renowned Polish journalist Stefan Szczepłek.
The players were given a brief talk against the impressive backdrop of a giant photograph of Poland's winning team from the 1972 Olympic Games, with Szczepłek eager to underline that the current squad are following in illustrious footsteps. "You are sitting in front of a very important picture," he told them. "This is when proper football really started in Poland."
The players then followed their guide on a tour of the exhibition, which includes signed shirts from luminaries such as Pelé, Diego Maradona, Franz Beckenbauer and UEFA President Michel Platini. Special attention was paid to memorabilia made available by the family of Kazimierz Górski – the visionary manager of that 1972 side, who also led Poland to third place at the 1974 FIFA World Cup – along with numerous exhibits related to one of the famous players of that era, Kazimierz Deyna.
"It's a great idea for the players to do something like this," said forward Paweł Brożek. "It's not just about killing time; it's good to do something that's really interesting and to learn more about the great Polish sides of the past
. Of course, it will be difficult to replicate the success of the Poland team of the 1970s, but seeing this exhibition acts as a motivation for the players.
"As it happens, I also collect football memorabilia and my favourite shirt is the one I got from Gerard Piqué during my time at Wisła Kraków, when we played Barcelona in the Champions League," the 29-year-old added. "I will treasure that shirt forever, so yes, I enjoyed this exhibition because it means you can think about something else and not just focus on the game all the time. You would go crazy if you did that all the time."
After completing their tour, the players signed three Poland strips which will be added to the exhibition, which runs until late autumn. The dream, of course, is that one day those will be priceless mementos of another glorious Polish side.
Hindu Right-Wingers Speak Out on Modi - Wall Street Journal
By Vibhuti Agarwal
Divisions among supporters of India’s main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party over Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi seem to be getting deeper.
Differences came out in the open in sharply contrasting editorials that ran in a pro-BJP magazine and in several publications affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, an extreme right-wing Hindu group that traditionally endorses the BJP.
An article published in the latest issue of the “Organizer”, an English-language magazine run by the RSS, described Mr. Modi as “by far the most popular leader in the country” and the “most preferred prime ministerial choice of the people”.
Describing Mr. Modi as the “BJP’s mascot” for the national elections to be held in 2014, G.V.L Narasimha Rao, the article’s author, said he has the potential to catapult the party to power.
“Modi as the leader of the BJP would deliver huge gains to it in the battleground state of Uttar Pradesh,” argues Mr. Rao. “He would help the BJP cross a threshold level of vote share to start winning seats in states like Orissa and Haryana and improve vote share substantially in states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal to make it an attractive pre-poll alliance partner.”
The BJP has deep-running ties with the RSS: many of the party’s leaders –including Nitin Gadkari, L.K. Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee – have their roots in the group. The RSS, which relies on an extensive grassroots network, wields considerable influence on the BJP’s policy agenda.
Mr. Rao’s views contrast with those published in the RSS’ Hindi weekly “Panchjanya”.
“Opponents of BJP get an opportunity to attack the party if such a popular leader [Modi] acquires an image of being intolerant who cannot take his colleagues along,” writes Devendra Swaroop in an editorial.
This appeared to be a reference to an episode that took place last week, when Mr. Modi refused to attend a meeting of senior BJP politicians in Mumbai over policy differences with fellow party member Sunil Joshi.
It was only after Mr. Joshi resigned as a member of the BJP’s executive body that Mr. Modi agreed to participate in the session, according to media reports.
“It is being felt that Modi needs to do a rethink about his style of functioning and organizational capabilities,” Mr. Swaroop wrote in the Panchjanya editorial.
The BJP magazine, “Kamal Sandesh” echoes similar views. Without explicitly naming Mr. Modi, author Prabhat Jha argues that the “BJP does not function on the basis of any individual’s contribution alone.”
“It is always seen that on reaching the top, even after knowing that a day will come when he has to come down, he tries to belittle the ones below him,” Mr. Jha writes.
BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar played down the articles saying “don’t make a story out of nothing.” He refused to comment on whether Mr. Modi will be the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate for the next general elections.
A major obstacle for Mr. Modi’s potential candidacy is that he does not enjoy the support of several key BJP politicians, including Mr. Advani and Sushma Swaraj.
The Gujarat riots are another major issue. While Mr. Modi has been hailed for his development efforts in Gujarat, his legacy has been tainted by the communal riots of 2002 in which over 1000 people died. Mr. Modi has been criticized for not doing enough to stop the violence, allegations he denies.
Political analyst Chintamani Mahapatra, professor at the New Delhi-based Jawaharlal Nehru University says “Modi might be the BJP’s popular face but the party will take a decision on him only after consultation with potential coalition partners.”
The RSS will likely play a big role in determining whether Mr. Modi could become the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate. “Without the RSS’ backing, no candidate can do well,” says Mr. Mahapatra.
Do you think the BJP should choose Narendra Modi as its leader? Please share your views in the Comments section.
BJP, RSS put up strong defence, deny rift within party - rediff.com
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has reiterated that there were no differences within the Bharatiya Janata Party [ Images ] and that its leaders were capable of sorting out differences.
Speaking to rediff.com, RSS spokesman Ram Madhav said that there was no reason for the organisation to interfere in the BJP's affairs.
"If you want to know what the Organiser (party magazine) wrote in favour of Narendra Modi [ Images ] and Kamal Sandesh wrote against him, direct your questions to those who wrote," Madhav said.
"There is no squabbling among party leaders," the party spokesperson Prakash Javdekar told media persons in reference to the attack made on several saffron leaders in the party magazines, Kamal Sandesh, Panchjanya and Organiser.
"They are like any series of newspapers in the country... Every magazine editor got his idea and concept to write freely as newspapers are doing. It is the media which is making their own interpretation from party's magazine(s) ....Ghar ke andar koi ladayee nahin hai (No internal strife in BJP)," Javdekar said.
He was reacting to the editorial in Kamal Sandesh, which appealed the party leaders to rise above the petty issues of 'self' and 'other' besides that of 'self existence' and come together for the existence of the party.
On the posters of party leader Sanjay Joshi coming up in Ahmedabad [ Images ], Javdekar said, "I do not see such posters...where are they?"
Though the posters did not name Modi directly, it is apparent that the snub is aimed at the chief minister who had his way in elbowing out Joshi from the BJP national executive held in Mumbai [ Images ] last month.
On BJP president Nitin Gadkari [ Images ] touching the feet of Yoga guru Baba Ramdev [ Images ], Javadekar said, "Gadkari has touched the feet of a sant (Baba Ramdev) not of any rakshasa (demon)... We are not followers of Baba Ramdev or Anna Hazare. Corruption and black money were the issues that BJP had raised years ago".
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