Sachin Tendulkar delivers his rare speech on Facebook Live

Rajya Sabha member Sachin Tendulkar was supposed to make a speech in the house on Thursday. But the shouting Congress MPs did not give him a chance to make his rare speech.

Taking a dig at this, the cricketer delivered his Parliament speech by going live on his verified account on Facebook. “There were things that I wanted to say yesterday but couldn't,” he said on his live post.

Sachin restated his wish to transform India from a sport-loving nation to a sport-playing nation. He talked about how fitness must be the primary motive of the youth and how playing any sport can make the country achieve its fitness goals.

The live video was captioned, “It is my endeavour to transform India from being a sport loving nation to a sport playing nation. I urge you all to participate in this effort and make my dream, our dream. Always remember, dreams do come true! Jai Hind.”

He started his speech by telling how his father always supported him.

“I often wonder what brought me here. Little that I realized that those baby steps in cricket would lead me to great lifetime memories. I loved playing sport and cricket was my life. My father, professor Ramesh Tendulkar, was a poet and a writer. He always supported me and encouraged me to be what I wanted to be in life. The greatest gift I got from him was the freedom to play, the right to play and I would always be grateful to him for that. There are many pressing matters in our country that recall our attention, Economic Growth, Poverty, Food Security, healthcare among many other. Being a sportsman, I’m gonna talk on sports, health and fitness of India for it has a telling impact on our economy.”

He spoke about fitness of the youth in the country.

“My vision is healthy and fit India...We are a diabetic capital of the world with over 75 million people affected by this disease. And when it comes to obesity, we are sitting at no.3 spot in the world. The economic burden of these diseases will not allow our nation to progress,” he said.

He spoke about transformation of the country.

Also Read: Tendulkar visits his adopted village Donja in Marathwada

“Humare fitness ke sessions light ho rahe hai and khane ke sessions thori heavy hote ja rahe hain, humein ye aadat badalni chahiye. (Our fitness sessions are declining while our food sessions are on the rise, we should change this habit). Many of us only discuss and don't play at all. We need to transform India from a sport loving nation to a sport playing nation. Make everyone more active and participative, inculcate and develop the sporting culture of the country.”

He also spoke about the North-East part of our country and how sportspersons from North-East represent our country at the global level. “The North-East of India, which has only 4 per cent population of India, has a vibrant sporting culture. It has produced many sporting heroes, including our boxing idol, Mary Kom.”

Also Read: Sachin Tendulkar’s maiden speech in Rajya Sabha disrupted as Opposition MPs protest

He ended his speech by emphasizing on the point that each child should get the right to play a sport at school. He said, “Maata pita jaise aaj tak apne bacchon ko puchte aaye hain ki kya tumne khaana khaaya, kya tumne padhai ki, mere liye vo din sabse bada din hoga jab in dono cheezon ke saath maata pita apne bacchon se ye bhi puchenge ki kya tum khele ya nahi (The way parents ask kids whether they have had food, have studied, For me the biggest day will be when parents will also ask have you played any sport).”

On Thursday, Tendulkar stood waiting for almost 10 minutes in the Rajya Sabha to make his speech but was refrained because of the protesting Congress MPs.