Good people need to be involved in politics: Bhutia

THT, 6 Mar 2014, KOLKATA: Time will tell whether Bhaichung Bhutia enters the Lok Sabha as an MP but on the day the former India skipper was named Trinamool Congress candidate from Darjeeling, he was a mere 15km away from Parliament. Bhutia was playing with the Brazuca, the official ball for the 2014 World Cup, against Tihar Jail inmates.

The buzz around his candidacy had been there for sometime but Bhutia, the only Indian footballer to have been given a Padma Shri while still a player, didn’t want to talk about it till it was official. When HT linked up with him over the phone at his New Delhi hotel, Bhutia first thanked chief minister Mamata Banerjee “for giving me such a big responsibility” before explaining why he decided to join politics.

“My wife (Madhuri) wasn’t so sure about this decision. She felt it was wasn’t a good thing but my point was this: a lot of us simply criticise politicians, hate them but do nothing about it. I told myself ‘let me see if I can.’ I told myself that good people need to be involved in politics,” he said.

Bhutia remains a rare Indian sportsperson who hasn’t shied from taking a political stance. He opted out of the Olympic Torch run ahead of the 2008 Beijing Games because he didn’t agree with China’s policy on Tibet. “I couldn’t have looked at Tibetan friends,” Bhutia had then said. It was a decision that sparked international curiosity about the India football captain and Maidan legend who now co-owns at United Sikkim Football Club.

“This is a new thing for me and will be a learning experience. The only thing I can promise is that I will conduct myself with complete transparency and honesty. That is how I played football which had been my life so far,” he said. And what about his responsibilities at his club or at the All India Football Federation where he heads the technical committee? “I hope more people will hear my views on football now,” he said.