Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray lashed out at the BJP for doing nothing to stop the India versus Pakistan cricket match, which will be played as part of the Asia Cup cricket tournament in the UAE on Sunday (September 14).
The India-Pakistan cricket match to be played on September 14 is expected to attract millions of eyeballs globally and is extremely popular with betting bookies, but the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena’s Mahila Aghadi is making preparations to stage protests all over Maharashtra on Sunday. The Shiv Sena women’s wing plans to launch a ‘My Country My Sindoor’ campaign to protest against the India-Pakistan cricket match.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi used to say that blood and water will not flow together. So, where did cricket come into this? Does this mean that we have stopped the war with Pakistan? What will Defence Minister Rajnath Singh say about this? Tourists in Pahalgam were shot dead after being asked about their religion. After such a situation, do the Prime Minister and the BJP claim that they value Hindutva? Or do they consider business more important than the country and Hindutva?” Uddhav Thackeray said.
Reacting to criticism by the BJP that former Pakistani cricketer Javed Miandad had visited the late Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray at his Bandra East ‘Matoshree’ residence, Uddhav Thackeray said, “Have BJP leaders begun to doubt Balasaheb’s patriotism as well? Balasaheb never went to anyone’s house. Javed Miandad himself came here, and Balasaheb had told him that until Pakistan treats our country well, no cricket matches will be allowed.”
“What was not achieved by sending delegations of MPs around the world, we could have achieved by showing the world that we boycotted the cricket match, declaring that we are against terrorism. Pakistan is a country that supports terrorism, and until Pakistan stops its terrorist activities, we will not have any relations, let alone water. This was the stand taken by late Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray,” Uddhav Thackeray said.
Talking about the India-Pakistan match and the criticism faced by sportsman Neeraj Chopra, Uddhav Thackeray said, “Tomorrow there is a cricket match between India and Pakistan. Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, who made his country’s name shine, had invited Pakistani javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem to India. It is not known when he extended this invitation. But the Pakistani player did not come. Due to this, some blind devotees called Neeraj Chopra a traitor. I cannot even imagine how much pain he must have felt after this. But why are we suddenly going to play a cricket match with Pakistan, with whom we fought a war?”
“India playing a match with Pakistan is a mockery of patriotism. Those who have allowed it to happen are least bothered about the country and are bothered only about business interests. I want to ask Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah, have you declared that this war has stopped? What action will you take against those who called Neeraj Chopra a traitor and those who called Army officer Sophia Qureshi a sister of Pakistanis? What is our exact position towards Pakistan?” Uddhav Thackeray said.
Reacting to Uddhav Thackeray’s statement, BJP spokesperson Navnath Ban stated on Saturday that Shiv Sena and its Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut must implement a ‘My Bin Laden My Pakistan’ campaign instead of the ‘My Country My Sindoor’ campaign.
“Indian cricketers will definitely defeat Pakistan tomorrow (Sunday). Sanjay Raut should stop singing Pakistan’s sweet songs. I challenge Sanjay Raut to show the courage to explode crackers in front of Uddhav Thackeray’s ‘Matoshree’ residence and at Raut’s house after India wins the cricket match against Pakistan,” BJP spokesperson Navnath Ban said here on Saturday.