New Delhi: The upcoming India-Pakistan cricket match has triggered widespread controversy, with political parties, victims’ families, and civil society voices demanding a boycott in light of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 civilian lives, most of them tourists.
Aishanya, widow of Kanpur businessman Shubham Dwivedi who was killed in the Pahalgam assault, made an emotional appeal to the public, urging them to shun the match. Calling the decision “deeply insensitive,” she accused the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) of dismissing the sentiments of victims’ families.
“Their martyrdom holds no value for the BCCI—perhaps because none of their own were lost,” she told PTI.
Political Opposition Voices Sharp Criticism
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray announced a statewide ‘Sindoor’ protest, describing the match as “an insult to national sentiment.”
“Till the time terror does not stop, we should not maintain any relations with Pakistan,” he said at a press conference in Mumbai on Saturday. Thackeray also accused the BJP-led Centre of disregarding the grief of families who lost loved ones in the Pahalgam attack.
In Delhi, Aam Aadmi Party leader and former minister Saurabh Bharadwaj led a demonstration where party workers burnt an effigy symbolising Pakistani cricketers. Speaking to reporters, he termed the match “a humiliation of widows who lost their husbands in Pahalgam.” Later, in a post on X, he added, “Pakistan’s players mock our widows in filthy ways, and yet we agree to play cricket with them. Shame on the BJP government.”
Leaders from the Congress, NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) and AIMIM have also criticised the government for going ahead with the match.
Shinde Sena Counters Thackeray
The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena strongly rebutted Thackeray’s remarks. Party spokesperson and MP Naresh Mhaske said, “Thackeray, who abandoned Hindutva for power and sang praises of Pakistan, has no moral right to oppose such matches.”
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who heads the NCP, sought to strike a conciliatory note. “The country has a population of 140 crore. In such a vast nation, differing views are inevitable. Some believe matches with Pakistan should be avoided due to strained ties, while others support the game,” he said.
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