As the Indian cricket team prepares to face Pakistan at the Asia Cup in Dubai, the political temperature has once again increased in the country, with calls to boycott the game growing louder in view of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. The opposition, including Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Shiv Sena-UBT, have criticised the central government for allowing the Indian team to play with Pakistan.
Both Uddhav Sena and the AAP have decided to hold a protest in Maharashtra and Delhi, respectively, against the match on Sunday. The AAP has also warned clubs, pubs and restaurants in the national capital against screening of the game, as it accused the Modi government of 'humiliating' the victims of the Pahalgam attack.
"Pakistan's cricket players mock our widows in such a dirty, disgusting way, and we will play cricket with them. Shame on the BJP government. This is a gross humiliation of our women who lost their husbands in the Pahalgam attack, but still our central leadership is going ahead with the India-Pakistan cricket match," said AAP's Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj in an 'X' post.
Uddhav Sena to stage 'sindoor' protest
Similarly, the Uddhav Sena has also called the game an 'insult' to the sentiments of Indian soldiers, as it announced a 'sindoor' protest across Maharashtra. Addressing a press conference in Mumbai, Shiv Sena-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray said India should boycott the game and convey its stance on terrorism to the world.
"This cricket match is an insult to national sentiments. Should we be playing cricket with Pakistan while our soldiers sacrifice their lives on the borders?" Thackeray was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. "This was (undivided) Shiv Sena chief (Bal Thackeray's stand). If blood and water cannot flow together, then how can cricket and blood (go) together?"
Govt should be ashamed: Cong
The Congress has also criticised the government over the match and said that it should be ashamed. "It is business. There is excitement in India-Pakistan matches. Tickets are being sold at high prices. They do not care that our sisters' Sindoor has been destroyed," said Congress MP Imran Masood.
BJP defends itself
Meanwhile, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has defended itself for allowing the Indian team to play with Pakistan, saying it is a compulsion for the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) to participate in such international games. "When multinational tournaments are organised by ACC or ICC, it becomes a compulsion, a necessity for nations to participate. If they don't do that, they will be eliminated from the tournament, they will have to forfeit the match and the other team will get the points... But India doesn't play bilateral tournaments with Pakistan. We have made this decision for years that India won't play bilateral tournaments with Pakistan until Pakistan stops terrorist attacks on India," news agency ANI quoted BJP MP Anurag Thakur as saying.
India-Pakistan Asia Cup game
India and Pakistan are scheduled to play an Asia Cup game at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. India does not play any bilateral games with Pakistan, but continues to face them in multilateral tournaments such as the Asia Cup or any other ICC event.
