New Delhi: The newly sworn in Rajya Sabha MP PT Usha met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and first request put forward by Usha during her meeting with the PM was to have AIIMS in Kerala, the state’s long-standing wish. Renowned former Olympic track and field athlete took oath as Rajya Sabha MP on Wednesday.
The former athlete requested that AIIMS at Kinalur in Balussery soon turn into a reality. The PM instructed MoS V Muraleedharan to remind him about the matter. Usha was accompanied by her husband V Sreenivasan and son Vignesh Ujjwal. She also met Vice President and chairman of the Rajya Sabha M Venkaiah Naidu.
Usha, along with renowned composer Ilaiyaraaja, screenwriter V Vijayendra Prasad and spiritual leader Veerendra Heggade, were nominated to the Upper House of Parliament by the government in what was seen as part of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) outreach to southern India. Usha’s mother Lakshmi and uncle Narayanan watched the ceremony on TV from the hall of their home ‘Ushass’ in Payyoli.
Usha, a celebrated athlete born in a small village in Kozhikode district in Kerala, is one of India’s most iconic sportspersons. She has been a role model and inspiration for lakhs of young girls across the country who have dreamt of taking up a career in sports, especially track and field events. In the 1984 Olympics, she missed winning India’s first medal in track and field in a photo-finish as she stood fourth in women’s 400M hurdles and lost the Bronze medal by 1/100 second.
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