Mumbai, Sep 13 Shiv Sena-UBT Chief and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, on Saturday, criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government at the Centre for allowing the India-Pakistan cricket match being played at Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
"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 be Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's answer to this?" he asked.
"What was not achieved by sending delegations of MPs around the world after Pahalgam terror attack could have shown the world by boycotting a match that we are against terrorism. Pakistan is a country that supports terrorism and until Pakistan stops its terrorist activities, we should not have any relations, let alone water. This was the stance of Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray," Uddhav Thackeray said.
He also asked, "Does trade and revenue generated through cricket match more important than the pride of the country?"
Responding to the BJP's allegations regarding the meeting of former Pakistani player Javed Miandad and Shiv Sena Chief Balasaheb Thackeray, he said: "Are BJP leaders doubting Balasaheb's patriotism? Those who doubt Balasaheb's patriotism should remain worthy. Balasaheb did not go to anyone's house. Javed Miandad himself came here and Balasaheb had told him that there would be no match between India and Pakistan."
Remembering the veteran BJP leader late Sushma Swaraj, who was the then Foreign Minister, Thackeray said that Sushma Swaraj had opposed the India-Pakistan cricket match.
"At that time, S. Jaishankar was her (Sushma Swaraj's) Foreign Secretary. Now the Secretary is becoming the Foreign Minister," he taunted.
He announced that the Shiv Sena-UBT's women wing will hold a protest on Sunday titled "Sindoor Raksha" (My Kumkum, My Country).
"The India-Pakistan cricket match is being played on Sunday evening but at 11 a.m. the women wing activists will gather in every square and put vermilion in a box which we will send to PM Modi. Every house will send vermilion to PM Modi. Now is the time. I tell the countrymen that we should tell PM Modi strongly that the match should not take place," he said.
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