India-Pak match was fixed; Jay Shah gave money to Pak, says Sanjay Raut

Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut on Monday claimed the cricket match played in Dubai was “fixed” and that Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah, who heads the International Cricket Council (ICC), paid Rs 50,000 crore to Pakistan.

Targeting the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Raut stated the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) received Rs 1,000 crore. “The match was fixed. Out of Rs 1.5 lakh crore of gambling, Rs 50,000 crore went to Pakistan. Amit Shah’s son gave the money to Pakistan. It’s their strategy to fund Pakistan to ‘strengthen’ terrorism so that they attack us and they get political benefit,” Raut alleged.

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“Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah is the ICC Chairman while Mohsin Naqvi is the ACC Chairman, who is a Pakistani. The Modi government is shameless,” Sanjay Raut said.

“The BCCI and all other cricket organisations are under the control of Jay Shah. Not only that, the head of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) which organised the Dubai cricket match is Mohsin Naqvi of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the son of Maharashtra’s Minister of Information Technology Ashish Shelar of the BJP, works under Mohsin Naqvi. Ashish Shelar should have resigned from the cabinet on the basis of ethics.

“If Jay Shah could not have avoided organising this match, he should have resigned and left his post and returned to India. But his father Amit Shah teaches patriotism to the country. He teaches us what Hindutva is. Balasaheb Thackeray never indulged in such business,” Sanjay Raut said.

Sanjay Raut said that India’s national interest was harmed by this match and it is “a matter of shame” that it was allowed to happen. “The very fact that this match was held is a matter of shame. Will it bring back the sindoor (vermillion) of women who lost their husbands? The Indian government itself gave permission to hold the match. The decision to play the match with Pakistan was taken by the government,” Sanjay Raut said.

Raut’s statement came a day after Uddhav Thackeray announced state-wide protests during which the Shiv Sena’s women wing (Shiv Sena Mahila Aghadi) sent boxes of sindoor (vermillion) to the Prime Minister.

Raut tagged the RSS as well as the BJP and threatened to share information about hotels and restaurants, which screened the matches, in a post tweeted from his X handle. “The information about the restaurants and clubs where the India-Pakistan cricket matches should be shared publicly by patriotic citizens on social media. Jai Hind! Jai Maharashtra! Bharat Mata Ki Jai! My Kunku (Sindoor), My Country!”.

Raut stated that the Indian cricket team was and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) were not keen to play the Asia Cup match with Pakistan in Dubai, but had to do so after pressure from the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Asian Cricket Council (ACC), which are headed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah who heads the International Cricket Council (ICC).

“The truth is that the BJP government which includes the great and ardent patriots PM Modi and Amit Shah have allowed the India-Pakistan cricket match to go ahead. This shows the sheer bankruptcy of their so-called patriotism. The Pahalgan attack killed 26 of our innocent people and the sindoor (vermillion) was wiped off the foreheads of their wives. The so-called nationalism and patriotism of the BJP is only a pretence.

“In the past, India has withdrawn from such cricket matches due to terrorism or for security reasons. This time the interest of Jay Shah, the son of Union Home Minister Amit Shah is involved,” Sanjay Raut said.

“Jay Shah sits in Dubai and he is the one who organised this match. He is the head of the International Cricket Council (ICC). Narendra Modi has no morality or patriotism left in him. What was the compulsion to play the cricket match with Pakistan? Who exactly is involved in this money spinning game? Who benefits from it,” Sanjay Raut said.

“The ‘My Sindoor My Country’ movement launched by Uddhav Thackeray is no longer limited to only Maharashtra. This idea has spread across the country. Many political parties outside Maharashtra protested against the cricket match. AAP protested against the match in Punjab and asked people to boycott all restaurants and hotels in Delhi where the match will be screened. We will draw up a list of hotels and restaurants which screened this match and supported this betrayal of the nation in Maharashtra. We will also publicise this list,” Sanjay Raut said.

“The outcry against this cricket match happened everywhere and that is why PM Modi visited Manipur. He did not go to Manipur with any noble intentions. He went to Manipur to distract the attention of the people from the India-Pakistan cricket match being played in Dubai.

“The so-called nationalism and Hindutva of the BJP is the biggest hypocrisy in the world. Many cricketers have opposed the match and those who are playing this match must feel ashamed of themselves.

“Do they not have any nationalism and patriotism in their hearts? What would have happened if they had refused to play? Would Jay Shah have hanged the cricketers? Or would Amit Shah have put them in jail,” Sanjay Raut said.

“I have repeatedly said that if you play with the feelings of the people, a Nepal like situation may arise here. I would like to tell Amit Shah that if Balasaheb had been alive, this cricket match would have never been played in Dubai. You teach us patriotism but your son Jay Shah organises India-Pakistan cricket matches in Dubai despite the vermillion on the foreheads of our mothers and sisters getting wiped off.

“Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, you will have to leave your posts and flee the country because you have played with the country’s feelings and prestige,” Sanjay Raut said.