Kolkata: Indian tennis legend Leander Paes’s move to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday has evoked a range of reactions from the Christian and sports communities.Former India Davis Cup captain Jaidip Mukerjea expressed displeasure with the decision. “Personally, I believe sports persons should not join politics. They should try to work towards the upliftment of sports,” Mukerjea told TOI. “We don’t see too many top-level sportspersons entering politics. If that was to happen, Roger Federer would have been the president of Switzerland,” he added.Mukerjea, who was the India coach when Leander won the bronze at the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996, also feels the tennis legend got the timing wrong. “Joining BJP just before the assembly elections also isn’t proper, I feel. He could have joined a year or two earlier. I think he got the timing wrong.”Paes, who earlier belonged to Church of Christ the King parish, is now a parishioner of St Thomas Church Middleton Row. Father Gregory Monteiro, parish priest of the Church of Christ the King said, “This move by Leander is quite unexpected and I never thought of this. However, this is his own choice. I know him personally and his earlier parish was Church of Christ the King. I hope he will help the members of his community and reach their agendas and pleas to the Centre. May be, this will be a blessing for us in the future.” Krupa David, former managing director, Goodricke Tea, who had known Paes since he was a child, said, “I am a Christian; an apolitical one. However, I don’t condone divisive politics — churches being vandalised, burnt, prayer meetings being disrupted. Yes, I am against forced conversions of any sort by anyone. Prosecute surely; but do not persecute. I have known Leander since he was a child and his Dad Dr Vece Paes even before that. All I can say is that I am shocked — what induced him to do this?”Talking about Paes’ new endeavor, former Bengal Tennis Association (BTA) president Hironmoy Chatterjee, whom Paes replaced at the helm, said, “It’s completely his choice and I have nothing to say regarding that. I wish him all the best for the future.”Former India player Shivika Burman was hopeful that Paes’s move helps in sports development. “Personally, wherever he joins, it’s his choice, I wish him luck. From a sportsperson’s point of view, I really hope that if he has a position of power, then he uses that to help make sports better in our country,” she said.BTA COO (chief operating officer) Sujoy Ghosh also echoed similar sentiments. “Leander always wants to do something for the Olympic sports. In that regard, I am hopeful this move helps him achieve what he wants. Only time will tell how he can help in developing sports in the state if Trinamool Congress again comes to the office. My best wishes with him,” Ghosh said.Anand Benjamin, a parishioner of the Church of Christ the King said, “Paes has sprung a surprise on me by joining the BJP. I believe that a person of his stature will be able to influence his new party colleagues and make them look at minorities. I believe that his work will make him an agent for maintaining communal harmony in the country.” Another parishioner Bemvinda Pereira said, “As a citizen, I respect when individuals from all walks of life and public figures make their own choices about how they wish to serve. Paes has chosen to join the BJP and it is his own decision. It is for the people to consider and decide through the democratic process.”
