As India is all set to play Pakistan in the Asia Cup cricket tournament on Sunday, the BCCI and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party have found themselves in the middle of a raging row, with several opposition parties joining the calls to boycott the match.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi questioned if money is more valuable than the lives of 26 people who were killed in the Pahalgam terrorist attack.
"My question to the Chief Minister of Assam, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, and all of them is that you don't have the power to refuse to play a cricket match against Pakistan, which asked for the religion of our 26 citizens in Pahalgam and shot them," Owaisi said.
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 Pahalgam attack carried out by Pakistan-based terrorists on April 22.
Owaisi recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statements that blood and water cannot flow together and that dialogue and terrorism cannot happen together.
“How much money will the BCCI get from one cricket match, Rs 2000 crore, Rs 3000 crore? Is the value of money more than the lives of our 26 citizens?,” asked the Hyderabad MP.
Several other parties, including the Congress, Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT), have slammed the decision to play cricket with Pakistan, calling it an insult to the families of the Pahalgam victims.
"On one hand, you talk about Operation Sindoor, you say no talks with terror, no trade with terror. Our delegation went to foreign countries. What message are you trying to give by playing a match with Pakistan today?,” asked Congress leader Abhishek Dutt.
On Saturday, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said boycotting the match was an opportunity to convey to the world India's stance on terrorism.
"This cricket match is an insult to national sentiments. Should we be playing cricket with Pakistan while our soldiers sacrifice their lives on the borders?," Thackeray asked.
The former Maharashtra chief minister said his party would stage protests against the match and the party's women workers would collect sindoor (vermilion) and send it to the Prime Minister's Office.
In Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party said their workers would expose the clubs, pubs and restaurants screening the match.
“What is the need for the Prime Minister to organise a match with Pakistan? The whole country is saying that this match should not happen. Then why is this match being organised?," AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal said in a post on X.
The AAP workers also burnt an effigy symbolising Pakistani players in the national capital.
Victims’ families call for boycott
A few family members of the Pahalgam attack victims have also voiced their anguish over the BCCI's decision and called for a boycott of the match.
Sawan Parmar, who lost his father and brother in the attack, said that the Operation Sindoor seemed like a "waste" now.
"When we got to know that the India vs Pakistan match was being organised, we were very disturbed. No sort of connection should remain with Pakistan... If you want to play the match, bring me back my 16-year-old brother who was shot with so many bullets. Operation Sindoor seems to be a waste now," he told ANI new agency.
Aishanya Dwivedi, the wife of Shubham Dwivedi, who was killed in the attack, urged people not to watch the match even on television.
"I cannot understand this. I urge people to boycott this. Do not go to watch this and do not switch on your TV for this,” Aishanya said.
Twenty-six people, mostly tourists, were killed as Pakistan-based terrorists sprayed bullets at them after examining their religious identity in the scenic valley near Pahalgam on April 22.
The attack sparked a strong retaliation from India, which carried out air strikes in nine terrorist hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7. India’s response also triggered a two-day-long military confrontation between the two countries until a ceasefire was reached on May 10.