Medical emergency kept me away from RS: Tendulkar

New Delhi: Under attack over his absence from Rajya Sabha, Sachin Tendulkar on Friday said there was a medical emergency that kept him away from Delhi and that he did not mean disrespect to any institution.

“My absence in Delhi has been discussed rather too much. I don’t mean to disrespect any institution,” he said hours after members in Rajya Sabha raked up his prolonged absence from the House and demanded his participation in its business.

Speaking at a sports function in Vigyan Bhawan not far away from Parliament, he said when he was back from England he wanted to be in Delhi. “There was a medical emergency in my family, certain things I want to keep it private. But just to let you know, my elder brother Ajit had to undergo a bypass surgery and I had to be by his side,” he said, seeking to address criticism about his absence from Delhi and Parliament.

In a veiled reference to the raging discussion about him in Parliament and outside by media, he said “They are discussing everything about you in the media but I think you should be focused on your job and nothing else.”

He was addressing the medal winners of the Commonwealth Games at a function organised by the Sports Ministry.

“I feel happy about my presence in Delhi,” the batting legend said. “My father once told me there will be a lot of arms that will try to pull you down but as long as you stay in the right direction you will see that at one point of time you have gone beyond them. They will join hands to praise you,” he said in his address to the athletes.

“Not always everyone will like you. There will be obstructions but the energy should always be focused on doing the right things and not get distracted,” the batting icon said.

“As sportspersons, your performance will be analysed and criticised. But one thing that outsiders can’t judge is the satisfaction that you will get when you give your 100%. If you give 100% and still the opposition team wins, you should not feel bad about it”, Tendulkar said.

“I think it is important to accept everything with humility. Stay humble and stay grounded. Try to achieve more for India and we will all be behind you.”

Tendulkar and sports minister Sarbananda Sonowal took turns to give away the awards at the felicitation function, organised by the Sports Authority of India.

A large contingent of media personnel, who had gathered at the venue were surprised to see Tendulkar on the dais as invitation letter had not mentioned anything about his presence.

The batting legend, dressed in a black-and-white check shirt and black trousers was seen exchanging greetings as he handed over the awards to the medal winners, which included stars such as boxer Vijender Singh, shooters Gagan Narang and Jitu Rai and shuttlers P Kashyap and PV Sindhu.

Apart from Tendulkar and Sonowal, Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, BJP leader and Sports Administrator Anurag Thakur, Sports Secretary Ajit Sharan and SAI DG Jiji Thomson were also on the dais.