The Shiv Sena (UBT) on Sunday intensified its attack on the BJP-led Government and the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) over the India–Pakistan cricket match in Dubai, calling it an insult to the memory of the 26 people killed in the Pahalgam terrorist attack.
Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said the game had exposed the “bankruptcy of Modi-Shah’s nationalism” and alleged that betting worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore was linked to the match.
“In Pahalgam, the vermilion was wiped off the foreheads of 26 women. Prime Minister Narendra Modi staged a chest-thumping drama. India has pulled out of international matches before. Why not now? Because Jay Shah has an interest. Modi has no morality left. The BJP can stop a war under Trump’s pressure, but not a cricket match with Pakistan. What kind of money game is this?” Raut said.
Jay Shah, son of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, heads the International Cricket Council.
The Sena (UBT) leader alleged that the Indian cricket team was reluctant to play the match. “We have had direct and indirect conversations with some cricketers. They are opposed to the game, but are being forced under the pressure of BCCI secretary Jay Shah. If they had refused, would Jay Shah have hanged them? Where is their patriotism?” he asked.
These claims could not be independently verified.
Street protests with Sindoor and smashed TV sets
Across Maharashtra, Sena (UBT) workers demonstrated under the banner “Majhe Kunku, Maza Desh” (my vermilion, my country). In Kandivali, a television set was broken as a symbolic protest. Women workers collected sindoor from their foreheads, saying it would be sent to Modi as a reminder about the widows created by the Pahalgam attack.
Sena (UBT) MLA Sunil Raut, brother of Sanjay Raut, warned, “Wherever in hotels or restaurants this match is shown, we will take action accordingly.”
Sanjay Raut calls Ajit Pawar ‘half-Pakistani’
Story continues below this ad
Raut tore into Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who had suggested that sport should be seen as sport. “Pakistani blood runs in Ajit Pawar’s veins. He is half-Pakistani. If even one of the 26 killed in Pahalgam had been from his family—or even a contractor of his—he would not have spoken like this. This is not the language of a patriotic citizen,” Raut said.
Reacting to Raut’s comments, Pawar said in Pune, ”How we should look at sports depends on each one of us, that right has been given to us by our Constitution and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. The Opposition is always looking for an opportunity to take a stand against the ruling party. I would like to appeal that we should not make it an emotional issue.”
Raut also attacked Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, saying, “Shinde’s group is not a political party but a small company owned by Amit Shah, like a temporary stock in the market. They have no connection to people’s emotions.”
Turning his ire back on cricket administrators, Raut demanded accountability from the BCCI and the Asian Cricket Council. “ACC president Mohsin Naqvi and BCCI treasurer Ashish Shelar should have resigned on moral grounds. Amit Shah and Eknath Shinde have no right to invoke Balasaheb’s name. If Balasaheb had been alive, today’s Dubai match would never have taken place,” he said.
Story continues below this ad
Accusing the BJP-led Government of colluding with cricket authorities, Raut said, “This Modi Government is shameless. The Indian cricket team should walk out and show its patriotism. Today’s match is nothing but a Rs 1.5 lakh crore gambling racket.”
“If they have even one drop of patriotism in them, they should not play the match. They should not unfurl the tricolour, whatever the result of the match.
Today’s match is a fixed match. Massive betting is taking place over today’s match. Most of the gambling is taking place in Gujarat and Mumbai. BJP leaders are involved in it. Is the Indian team playing for the country or Jay Shah ? Today, money laundering is going to take place on a large scale. What is ED going to do ?” he added.
Raut said that Modi’s visit to Manipur was meant to deflect attention from the controversy. “But the anguish of martyr Saurabh Dwivedi’s wife cannot be silenced,” Raut said.
