Slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah over Pakistani batsman Sahibzada Farhan’s rifle-wielding gesture during an Asia Cup match with India, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said on Monday that Shah’s ICC chief-son “Jay Shah deserves Bharat Ratna” for whatever happened in Dubai on Sunday.
Responding strongly to the incident that saw Pakistani batter Sahibzada Farhan used his bat like a rifle after he scored 50 runs in the match, Raut said: “This is what happened in today’s India Pakistan match As soon as Sohabzada Farhan scored his half-century, he held the bat like an AK 47 on the field and indulged in a shooting gesture.” “Sahibzada Farhan proved on the field how Pakistani terrorists slaughtered 26 innocents in Pahalgam—gunning them down like it was nothing. Reached his fifty and gripped the bat like an AK-47, firing boundaries,” the Sena (UBT) spokesperson said. “This spit in the face of BCCI & Modi govt is peak humiliation. For enabling India’s shame, Jay Shah deserves the Bharat Ratna,” Raut said.
Talking to media persons here on Monday, Raut claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi changed his Sunday’s national address timing from the usual 8 pm to 5 pm after the BJP told him that the party workers wanted to watch the India vs Pakistan match played in Dubai.
“The Prime Minister surprised everyone by addressing the nation on Sunday at 5 pm instead of the usual time is 8 pm —that’s the standard time to mislead people. So why 5 pm this time? People are saying that there was an India-Pakistan cricket match yesterday, and BJP workers wanted to watch it without any disturbance from the Prime Minister’s address,” Raut said.
“The BJP apparently informed the PM to schedule his address for 5 pm instead. BJP workers wanted to watch the India-Pakistan match, so the time was changed-- what a display of patriotism!” Sanjay Raut said. Meanwhile, All Indian Cinema Workers’ Association (AICWA) said that “any Indian filmmaker or producer who dares to cast Pakistani singers, actors, or performers will face a complete ban from it”. In a decision taken after Pakistani batsman Sahibzada Farhan made a rifle firing gesture with his bat at Sunday’s match with India, AICWA President Suresh Shyamlal Gupta said: “During the match, a Pakistani player from the terrorist nation of Pakistan shamelessly held his bat like a gun and pointed it towards the crowd – a direct insult to India, our martyrs and our armed forces. This is not sportsmanship; this is terrorism being showcased on the cricket field”. “Any Indian filmmaker or producer who dares to cast Pakistani singers, actors, or performers will face a complete ban from AICWA. We are proud to stand with the nation, our brave soldiers and the families of martyrs who sacrifice their lives for Bharat,” an AICWA chief said.
It may be recalled that after the Pahalgam terror attack on tourists, the AICWA had made it clear that the film industry would not have any association with their Pakistani counterparts and even objected to the Centre allowing Team India to play with Pakistan in the Asia Cup.