"We have all gathered here in the hope that dada Dhyan Chand gets the honour which is long overdue. It makes no difference to his stature, whether dada (Dhyan Chand) gets the award or not. Even the sports and home ministry recommending Dhyan Chand for Bharat Ratna did not prove to be enough when UPA was in power.Ajit Pal, who captained India to victory in 1975 World Cup, said Dhyan Chand should have been the first sportsperson to get the honour. Dhyan Chand played when we were still under British rule. "I don't want to go into who got it before Dhyan Chand Ji.

Source: Times of India August 28, 2016 13:19 UTC