Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shiv Sena (UBT) head and former Maharashtra CM, Uddhav Thackeray, on Sunday, questioned the logic of playing cricket matches with Pakistan when former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav is still languishing in jail in the neighbouring country.“We are going to have cricket World Cup soon. The India-Pakistan matches would be held in Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Why play with a country that fuels terrorism,” Thackeray said addressing a rally at Hingoli in Marathwada region of Maharashtra. Thackeray also raised the issue of Kulbhushan Jadhav, the former Indian Navy officer, who is in custody of Pakistan having been convicted on charges of spying. “Why play with Pakistan when Kulbhushan Jadhav is languishing in Pakistani jail. At this stage we don’t even know whether is dead or alive,” he said.
Meanwhile, Thackeray has expedited preparations for the Lok Sabha election and will chair a meeting of all tehsil chiefs of the party in Mumbai on September 2. His party had won 18 seats in 2019 but 13 of them switched their loyalty to Shinde.Thackeray has been looking for candidates in those constituencies and has been chairing marathon review meetings since August 16. So far, he has taken stock of the situation in north Maharashtra and part of western Maharashtra.