Prasun Banerjee is a three-time parliamentarian from West Bengal's Howrah constituency
Trinamool Congress lawmaker Prasun Banerjee on Thursday played football, along with former international footballer Gautam Sarkar, inside parliament premises to promote the sport. He said he carried out the unique demonstration to draw attention to football as, he claimed, nothing is being done for the sport by the chief of the country's football federation, Praful Patel.
"This place is the biggest place, because of the statue of Father of the Nation, who we respect a lot. So we called Gautam Da (to play football)...see, there is no fight, we have to uplift football," he said.
"Football can also be popular in the country but nobody is making efforts...Praful Patel, who is also an NCP parliamentarian, is doing nothing (for football)," he added.
"It is my request to all 543 people in parliament to come together. There is no politics here. The Prime Minister, sports minister, please come forward... we will do something for football," he said.
He said he is planning a football match between the teams of parliamentarians and security personnel.
Prasun Banerjee is a three-time parliamentarian from West Bengal's Howrah constituency. Before joining politics, he had captained the Indian football team. In 1979, he was awarded the Arjuna Award for his contribution to Indian football.
Mr Patel, a former union minister, has been the president of All India Football Federation since 2012.