Owaisi slams Centre over India-Pakistan cricket match amid Pahalgam attack outrage

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi slammed the Centre for allowing India to play Pakistan in the Asia Cup, questioning if cricket revenues outweighed 26 lives lost in the Pahalgam terror attack. He also criticised NCERT changes and raised concerns on Gaza.

Hyderabad: AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi slammed the BJP-led central government ahead of India-Pakistan Asia Cup cricket match, asking whether the value of 26 lives lost in the Pahalgam terror attack was more or the money earned through the match.

Addressing a public meeting organised here on late Saturday, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stated that water and blood cannot flow together, that terror and talks aren’t possible.

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“How much money will the BCCI get from one cricket match Rs 2,000 crore, Rs 3,000 crore? Tell us is the value of the lives of our 26 citizens more or the money? The BJP should tell us about it (on the decision to play the match against Pakistan)”.

The BJP always talks about ‘Desh Bhakti’, but when it comes to cricket matches, then it gets “stumped” (changes version), he said.
The AIMIM has always stood with the families of those killed in the Pahalgam terror attack, he said.

“How come the match is being held? It should not be played. When we can stop water–Indus Water Treaty, then how can we play. We want to ask the BJP and RSS: What is the price of those 26 lives? The BJP and RSS are not seeing the lives lost – only (how to earn) the money,” he alleged.

Traditional rivals India and Pakistan will face off in Dubai on Sunday in what will be the first match between the two sides since the military conflict in May, when India launched strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan-controlled territories after 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed in a dastardly terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22.

The AIMIM chief further attacked the BJP government at the Centre for making changes to the NCERT syllabus pertaining to the partition of the country.

“Muslims are being blamed for the partition. We are not responsible. It was Savarkar who first spoke of ‘two communities’ and gave slogans for partition. It was Mountbatten and the then Congress government who were responsible for the partition. The reason why Godse killed Mahatma Gandhi was also omitted from the NCERT,” he said.

Owaisi urged the central government, which has always supported the Palestinians, to take responsibility now to stop alleged “genocide” and provide food to those who are suffering from hunger in Gaza.

“The Muslims of the world should remember that if Muslims in Gaza are finished, then your countries will be attacked. You have seen that there was an attack in Doha. Netanyahu bombarded Yemen, Iran, Syria and where not,” Owaisi alleged.

He also spoke about the alleged incidents of Muslims being “targeted” in India, saying: “What we see is that we are also being targeted in our own country– our houses are demolished, our children are killed and bulldozers are run on us”.