Uddhav Thackeray targets BJP over India-Pakistan cricket match in Asia Cup

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said India playing a cricket match with Pakistan has exposed the BJP's "farce" of patriotism and stressed that the country should have shown firmness by not participating.

India won the Asia Cup match against the traditional rivals by seven wickets on Sunday amid boycott calls on social media, with the BCCI drawing heavy criticism for agreeing to the engagement in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack.

Thackeray also targeted the Mahayuti government over its mounting debt burden of Rs 9 lakh crore and referred to the launch of new schemes despite the precarious financial condition.

"BJP's farce (of patriotism) has been exposed. India should have shown firmness by not playing (the cricket match with Pakistan)," Thackeray told reporters.

The Sena (UBT) chief stated that it is now evident why India didn't get support from countries despite sending all-party delegations to several countries after the Pahalgam terror attack.

"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," Thackeray said.

The former chief minister slammed the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena for backing the BJP in the cricket match controversy. "They only love their chair and not the country".

Targeting the state government over the mounting debt burden, he said, "If you are taking loans for the benefit of contractors and undertaking construction of dams, bridges, and roads, then I will not call it development. It is necessary to focus on how to reduce the debt." He also demanded immediate relief to farmers hit by heavy rains.