Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Saurabh Bharadwaj has targeted India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav over his tribute to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack after India’s win in the Asia Cup game against Pakistan, as he dared him to donate all his match earnings to the families of the victims.
“He said he dedicated this win to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack so easily. You are very understanding. Agar tumhari aukaat hai, aur tumhari BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) ki aukaat hai, aur tumhari ICC (International Cricket Council) ki aukaat hai, toh tumhe dusri chunauti bhi dete hai. Jitna paisa tumne in broadcasting rights se kamaya hai, advertisers se kamaya hai, aur iss pure dhande mein aapne kamaya hai, de do un 26 vidhwahon ko. Hum bhi maan jayenge tumne dedicate kiya hai (If you, the BCCI and the ICC have the courage, whatever you have earned during the match through the broadcasters and advertisers, donate it to the widows of the Pahalgam terror victims),” the former AAP MLA told reporters in Hindi on Monday.
“Himmat nahi hai inki, aukaat nahi hai inki ki kuch bhi kar sake. Haan, farzi mein yeh bol do ki hum isko dedicate kar rahe hai aur hum usko dedicate kar rahe hai (They do not have the courage to do such a thing. Just keep saying that we dedicate this and that…). This is very embarrassing,” he added.
On Sunday, India won by seven wickets in the match that faced boycott calls on social media, with the BCCI drawing heavy criticism for agreeing to the engagement in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack.
After the match, Mr Yadav dedicated the victory to “our armed forces who took part in “Operation Sindoor” and said the team “stands with families of the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack”. Besides, Indian players refused to shake hands with the opposition team. Even at the toss, the two captains – India’s Yadav and Pakistan’s Salman Ali Agha – did not shake hands.
There was no immediate reaction from Mr Yadav, the BCCI or the ICC on Mr Bharadwaj’s remarks.
Several opposition leaders earlier targeted the Centre over India’s decision to play against Pakistan, saying it exposed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s “farce” of patriotism and stressed that the country should have shown firmness by not participating. “When we (India) said Pakistan was a perpetrator of terror, the world is going to ask you questions. Are you Pakistan’s enemy or friend? If you are their enemy, then snap all ties,” Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann slammed the Centre for giving its nod to the match, but denying permission to send a Sikh ‘jatha’ to the neighbouring country.
Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, however, said it is “not fair” to oppose the match.
Twenty six tourists, including a Nepal citizen, were killed in the terror attack in Jammu & Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22. The Resistance Front (TRF), a shadow group of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror group, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Under Operation Sindoor undertaken by the three defence forces on the border, India targeted terrorist and military facilities in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir from May 7-10 in retaliation to the attack.
