Sena (UBT) announces Sindoor protest against India-Pak cricket match

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray slammed the Modi government for the failed foreign policies and said that the government is giving importance to trade and revenue over nationalism

Mumbai: Calling the decision of allowing India-Pakistan cricket match a sad and disturbing one by the central government, the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has announced Sindoor Raksha Abhiyan on Sunday across the state. Thackeray slammed the Modi government for the ‘failed foreign policies’ and said that the government is giving importance to trade and revenue over nationalism.

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray addresses a press conference, in Mumbai, on Saturday. (PTI)

The Shiv Sena (UBT) has opposed the India-Pakistan Asia Cup match in Abu Dhabi on Sunday in the backdrop of the Pehalgham attack in April, killing 26 lives. Thackeray addressed a press conference on Saturday to announce the protest by party’s women workers on Sunday and said that it would be a “Har Gharse Sindoor’ protest, in which Sena women will send boxes of Sindoor to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also appealed to PM Modi to call off the match and show that he gives utmost importance to nationalism.

“The BJP-led government and their leader give importance to trade and revenue which is expected to be generated from the match. They had shifted a final match of a league in the past to Ahmedabad from Mumbai for the sake of revenue. I am sure the countrymen will give utmost importance to nationalism and oppose the match by not even watching it on the television. I am asking if the BJP will term the people, including BCCI’s Jay Shah, a traitor for watching the India-Pakistan match tomorrow,” he said.

In response to his detractors who said Pakistan’s former captain Javed Miandad was welcomed at Matoshree decades ago, Thackeray said that his father had vehemently opposed India-Pakistan matches then too. “Maharashtra chief minister (Devendra) Fadnavis has raised this, but let me tell him that honorable Balasaheb Thackeray had bluntly told Miandad that until Pakistan stops supporting terrorism and until it corrects its act, there would be no cricket between the two neighbouring countries. Fadnavis was not present then, but I was, and I know what actually happened during that meeting. The then external affairs minister late Sushma Swaraj too had staunchly opposed the matches between the two countries,” he said in the press conference held at his Bandra residence.

He said that the party whose leaders pay tribute to the tomb of Jinnah and secretly land in Pakistan to eat biryani with the then prime minister Nawaz Sharif should not teach others the nationalism. He said that the BJP should not raise questions over nationalism of late Bal Thackeray and they should not cross their limit.

Thackeray also said that the BJP is ‘doing trade in the name of nationalism’. “Defence minister Rajnath Shingh had said that Operation Sindoor has not been called off yet. He should not tell the nation if it is still underway or called off while allowing the match with Pakistan,” he said.

He also questioned the supporters who called Olympian Niraj Chopra a traitor for inviting the Pakistani coach to India, as they have noting to say about the cricket match. “I am asking the shameless BJP leaders who called Army officer Sophia Qureshi a ‘sister of terrorist’, is this act of the government not anti-national?” he said.