Politicians should not head sports bodies: Rahul Gandhi

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that politicians should not be involved in sports administration, and added that a popular sport like cricket should be run by cricketers.

"I don't think politicians should be anywhere near sports administrative bodies. I think cricket is something that is loved by people of India and I think cricket should be run by cricketers," Gandhi said during an interaction session with Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies students here.

"It should be run by people who have experience about cricket. I don't think politicians should be running cricket," he added.

The Congress vice president also said that setting rigid boundaries and getting trapped in narrow definitions can never bring change.

"Change is not as easy as it looks. If you want to lead institutions, if and solve problems: don't set rigid boundaries for yourself, don't get trapped in narrow definitions. You need to understand that everything is connected in this world," he said.

Gandhi further said that nation's derives its power from strength of ideas.

"Don't be swayed by waves, use your own mind. Don't put labels on things and industries. Labels are human invention, not the Universe's," he added.

Launching a veiled attack at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his initiative of Start-Up India programme, Gandhi said, "There is a huge contradiction in saying that I want to have start-ups to happen and I will be intolerant. They are connected. Start-ups require free movement of ideas; intolerance curbs the movement of ideas."

He added, "That you can't build the economy on one hand and be intolerant on the other, you will fail on the economy side, if you are intolerant. People who run start ups are very creative people by nature.