The Asia Cup clash between India and Pakistan on Sunday sparked a war of words between the two Shiv Sena factions led by Uddhav Thackeray and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray said playing a cricket match with Pakistan is an insult to national sentiments, as Indian soldiers are sacrificing their lives on the borders. He also announced 'sindoor' protests across the state.
Sindoor protest planned
Addressing media persons, Thackeray said boycotting the match would convey to the world India’s stance on terrorism, adding that the government was mixing politics and business with patriotism. He recalled the Prime Minister’s statement, ‘blood and water cannot flow together, and asked how blood and cricket flow together. They have done business in patriotism. The business of patriotism is only for money.
“UBT women workers will come out on the streets in Maharashtra, and they are going to send sindoor from every house to PM Modi,” Thackeray said. “What we could not achieve by sending delegations to several countries would have been achieved by boycotting the cricket matches,” he added.
Meanwhile, BJP MP Anurag Thakur has said that India does not play bilateral tournaments with Pakistan and will continue to avoid them until terrorist attacks on the country stop. “When multinational tournaments are organised by ACC or ICC, it becomes a compulsion, a necessity for nations to participate,” he added.
Counterattack on Uddhav
Responding to the criticism by Uddhav Thackeray, the Ekanth Shinde-led Shiv Sena said there was no change in the stand against Pakistan, and just a match between the two countries can not bring a change. The party MP Naresh Mhaske came down heavily against Thackeray for targeting the PM at the cricket match. “Thackeray was vacationing abroad when the Pahalgam terror attack happened,” he said.
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