New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) key ally, Shiv Sena, today launched a full-fledged attack on the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for going ahead with the India-Pakistan bilateral series.
The party, in its mouthpiece Saamana, said that it was an event being conducted to honour Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab and his team for the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
"It was very sad that on Thursday, when the whole country was paying tributes to the martyrs of the serial attacks in Mumbai, the BCCI went ahead and declared the venue of the Indo-Pak bilateral series in December," it the Saamana editorial reads.
"It seems as if the 26/11 was not a blood-shed and Pakistan had sent its cricket team who made a double century by killing innocent people and 20 policemen. It looks like Sri Lanka has been chosen to award Kasab and his team with medals" it further reads.
"The bilateral series is not being played in Pakistan because of the terror threat, and patriots like Shiv Sainiks are not allowing the match in India. But the people in the cricket board don't have any concerns about the innocent lives of civilians and security personnel being snuffed by the hands of the Pakistani militants," the editorial added.
It was good that the Ministry of External Affairs has still not given green signal to the bilateral series, it said, adding that 'it would be better that same determination should be shown by the Centre in putting a check at the BCCI'.
BCCI functionary chairman Rajiv Shukla had on Thursday said that the BCCI and PCB have agreed to play 5 matches in Sri Lanka and that the series will commence from mid-December.
Soon after this, Minister of External Affairs, Spokesperson, Vikas Swarup, clarified government is yet to approve the series.
India has not played a full bilateral Test series with Pakistan after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. According to a MoU signed between the PCB and BCCI, both countries are scheduled to play six series between 2015 and 2023.
