• Source:JND
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India-Pak Match: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday slammed the centre for the cricket match between India and Pakistan just a few months after the Pahalgam terror attacks. He stated that the party workers will stage a protest in Maharashtra, adding that the woman workers "will send sindoor to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi". While addressing a press conference in Mumbai, Thackeray alleged that the business was being done in the name of patriotism. The harsh remarks from the former Maharashtra chief minister came amid an ongoing row over the match scheduled between India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup.

"Our Prime Minister said blood and water cannot flow together, so how can blood and cricket flow together? How can war and cricket be at the same time? They have done business in patriotism. The business of patriotism is only for money. They are going to play the match tomorrow also because they want all the money they will get from that match," Thackeray told reporters.

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"Tomorrow, Shiv Sena (UBT) women workers will come out on the streets in Maharashtra, and they are going to send sindoor from every house to PM Modi," he further stated. The Sena chief also recalled an incident when Bal Thackeray (his father) allegedly told Pakistani cricketer Jawed Miandad that no cricket match is possible until the neighboring nation stops endorsing terrorism.

Earlier while addressing the issue, Union Minister Anurag Thakur stated that while India will not play any bilateral series against Pakistan, it is not possible to abstain from the multinational events. "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," he told reporters.

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"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," Thakur added. Several politicians, including Uddhav Thackeray, Priyanka Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Sanjay Raut, have questioned the necessity to play a match against Pakistan.