Sanjay Raut : 'India-Pak Match is BJP's Game'; Devendra Fadnavis should protest, Raut's Criticism

Mumbai – The politics in the state has heated up against the backdrop of the India-Pakistan match in the T-20 World Cup. Shiv Sena (Thackeray faction) leader Sanjay Raut has strongly criticized the BJP over the India-Pak cricket match. He attacked by saying, “The India-Pak match is BJP's game,” and demanded that Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis condemn this match. The 27th match of the T-20 World Cup between India and Pakistan is going to be held in Colombo. While there is excitement across the country about this high-voltage match, Raut accused the BJP of hypocrisy at a press conference. “On one hand, they want to politicize the issue of Tipu Sultan, and on the other hand, play cricket with Pakistan, this is BJP's hypocritical face,” he criticized.

Raut said that when elections come, issues like nationalism, Hindu-Muslim, India-Pakistan are brought forward; but when it comes to money, matches are played. He also mentioned Jay Shah, alleging, “Jay Shah is given permission.” He directly targeted the government, stating that Jay Shah is the son of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Just yesterday, Devendra Fadnavis made a statement about Tipu Sultan. From this, Raut raised the question, “Tipu Sultan is considered a hero in Pakistan, so why is there no protest when playing cricket with such a country?” He demanded that Fadnavis condemn this match.

In addition, Raut accused that there is large-scale betting on the match. “Pakistan earned 25,000 crore rupees through betting from the last match. This money is used for anti-national activities,” he made a serious allegation. Referring to incidents like Pulwama and Pahalgam, he criticized the government. Meanwhile, there has been no official response from the BJP on these allegations yet. However, the India-Pakistan match has become a topic of political debate rather than just a sports competition. The relationship between cricket and politics has once again come into discussion, and the political atmosphere is likely to heat up further on this issue in the coming times.