Unheard in Parliament, Sachin delivers his 'Rajya Sabha speech' on Facebook

NEW DELHI: After the Opposition's protests in Rajya Sabha washed away his "maiden" attempt to initiate a discussion on sports, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar took to Facebook on Friday to share what he wanted to say in the Upper House. "It is my endeavour to transform India from being a sport loving nation to a sport playing nation. I urge you all to participate in this effort and help make my dream, our dream. Always remember, dreams do come true! Jai Hind," he said on Facebook. Sachin began his Facebook Live saying there were things that he wanted to convey yesterday but couldn't. He shared how his father, Prof. Ramesh Tendulkar, supported and encourage Sachin to be what he wanted to be. He said, "the greatest gift I got from him was the freedom to play, the right to play". Sachin said his vision is healthy and fit India as the country is set to emerge as the youngest average age nation in the world. "So the assumption is: if we're young, we're fit. But we're wrong. We are the diabetic capital of the world with over 75 million people being affected by this disease. And when it comes to obesity, we are sitting at no.3 spot in the world," he said. "The economic burden of these diseases will not allow our nation to progress," he added. Quoting a UN report, the cricketer said the impact on the Indian economy of this non-communicable diseases from the year 2012 to 2030 will be USD 6.3 trillion. "We, Indians, can bring down these numbers if we keep ourselves healthy and fit," he said. Here's what he said: