Jay Shah Organising Indo-Pak Cricket Match Is Treason, Sanjay Raut Writes To PM Modi

Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP and chief party spokesperson has written a signed letter in English to PM Modi on his official Member of Parliament letterhead, condemning the decision to allow India-Pakistan cricket matches.

Raut also tweeted a soft copy of his letter to the PM and tagged it to the X handles of both PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah and interacted with media persons on Saturday.

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Raut’s tweet read, “Honorable Prime Minister, the blood of the Indians killed in the Pahalgam attack has not yet dried, and the tears of their families have not yet stopped. So, playing cricket matches with Pakistan is inhuman!”

“The news that the Union Sports Ministry has given the greenlight to India-Pakistan matches in the Asia Cup cricket tournament is deeply painful to the people of India. The forthcoming edition of the Asia Cup will start from September 9 in the UAE. India-Pakistan matches will be played in Dubai. The first match is scheduled to be played on September 14. Also, they might square off in the Super 4. The tournament will be played in the T20 format, considering the T20 World Cup, which is to be played next year,” Raut wrote in his letter to PM Modi.

“You say that ‘Operation Sindoor’ is not over. If the conflict is still going on, how can we play cricket with Pakistan? The Pahalgam terror attack was carried out by a Pakistani terrorist group which wiped off the sindoor (vermillion marks) of 26 women. Have you considered the feelings of those mothers and sisters? Has Trump threatened to stop trade if we do not play cricket with Pakistan? You declared that blood and water cannot flow together. Now will blood and cricket flow together?” Raut wrote in his letter to PM Modi.

“Matches against Pakistan involve large scale betting and online gambling, with many BJP members allegedly involved. Jay Shah, (Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah served as the BCCI secretary of the Board of Cricket Control India or BCCI, is presently the chairman of the International Cricket Council or the ICC) a prominent figure from Gujarat is currently steering cricket affairs. Is there significant financial turnover for the BJP in this?” Raut wrote.

“Honourable Prime Minister, playing cricket with Pakistan is not only an insult to the valour of our soldiers but also every martyr who sacrificed their life for Kashmir, including (late BJP leader Shyama Prasad Mukherjee). These matches are happening in Dubai. If they were held in Maharashtra, Balasaheb Thackeray’s Shiv Sena would have disrupted them. By prioritising cricket with Pakistan over Hindutva and patriotism, you are treating the sentiments of the nation’s people as worthless. The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) condemns your decision,” Raut wrote to PM Modi.

Interacting with media persons on Saturday, Raut said, “Who has invested money in cricket matches? Whose business is this? The biggest betting is done on India-Pakistan cricket matches. Most of the betting is done from Gujarat and Rajasthan. Mumbai comes next. Online gambling is done mostly from Gujarat in India-Pakistan cricket. So has a free rein been given to these gamblers? Jay Shah (the son of Union Minister Amit Shah) is the current mastermind of cricket. His father is the country’s Home Minister. I mean, the onus of preserving national sentiments seems to be only on us but his (Amit Shah’s) children can approve India-Pakistan matches. What kind of nationalism is this? I call it treason”.

“No India-Pakistan match will take place in Delhi. Even if such a match had been organised in Delhi or any other part of the country, we would have disrupted it with great force and slapped Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Playing cricket with Pakistan like this when ‘Operation Sindoor’ is not over is not acceptable to this country. You say that Pakistan had surrendered. So how are you surrendering by holding cricket matches?” Raut said.

Meanwhile, the Congress issued a statement that “If a war is going on with Pakistan as Modi has repeatedly said, then how are they playing cricket? Their water supply was stopped. Trade with them was stopped. Not only that, their medical visas were also stopped. Besides this, Pakistani citizens in India were rounded up and sent away. So what is the reason for playing a cricket match with Pakistan now?”

However, the Maharashtra unit spokesperson of the BJP Navnath Ban countered Sanjay Raut by issuing a statement that “Aurangzeb Fan Club spokesperson Sanjay Raut suffers from amnesia. Despite Pakistan carrying out terrorist attacks in India, the Congress government had invited Pakistan to play in India. It was because of the Congress government’s decision to invite the Pakistan cricket team to India that the pitch of the Wankhede Stadium was dug up by Balasaheb Thackeray’s Shiv Sainiks in 1991, a fact that Sanjay Raut has conveniently forgotten”.

“The position of the BJP and Modi government regarding the India-Pakistan cricket match is clear. Under no circumstances will Indian cricketers or Pakistani cricketers come to Indian soil to play games. We do not bring sports and blood together. Raut should not forget history while sitting on the lap of Congress, which had invited the Pakistan cricket team to India in 1991 despite Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray’s opposition. Raut has forgotten that he has made an alliance with the same Congress. Raut should not criticise Prime Minister Modi by pretending that he understands patriotism. Sanjay Raut is a spokesperson for Pakistan,” the BJP stated.