By IANS,

New Delhi : The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Friday gave a grant of Rs.15 million to the prestigious Constitution Club here to help renovate the decades-old structure.

"BCCI head and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar gave a cheque of Rs.15 million to the Constitution Club. This money will be used to establish a state-of-the-art gymnasium," Rajiv Pratap Rudy, secretary of the club, told reporters.

Rudy, who is also Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson, said the money would be used to buy equipment for the gymnasium. The club was in a state of decay till Rudy took charge six years ago and revamped the place.

"We are doing our bit to make it a nice place for MPs and other important people to relax and enjoy themselves. The credit for allowing me to continue my work should also go to Speaker Somnath Chatterjee who said I should continue even after the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was voted out of power," Rudy said.

One of the major reasons behind its revival is that political parties have not sparred over who should control it and board members include politicians from different parties.

The club was established by the British in the early 20th century. It was handed over to the Indian government after independence.

The club boasts of a restaurant, a few halls, a swimming pool and a gymnasium. Rudy and his team have come up with interesting names from parliamentary vocabulary for all the facilities it offers. The gymnasium will be called 'zero hour', the restaurant 'question hour' and the swimming pool the 'well of the house'.

"These are tentative names. More suggestions are welcome," Rudy said.