In a dig at the BJP, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday that India would have won the cricket World Cup if the final match was played in Kolkata or Mumbai. Not stopping there, but without naming anyone, she said “wherever sinners go, they take along their sins”.
“The Indian team played so well that they won all the matches in the World Cup, except the one attended by the sinners,” she said, also alleging that attempts were being made to “saffronise” the Indian team.
“They are trying to paint the entire country saffron. We are proud of our Indian players, and I believe that we would have won the World Cup if the finals had taken place in Kolkata or Wankhede (in Mumbai),” she said, during an address to party workers at the Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata.
She added: “They even tried to saffronise the team by introducing saffron practice jerseys. The players resisted and, as a result, they did not have to wear those jerseys during the matches.”
Earlier, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, in a poll speech in Rajasthan, had used the panauti barb against Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he had attended the World Cup final that India lost to Australia after 10 consecutive wins in the tournament.
The BJP has demanded action by the Election Commission against Gandhi for his comment. The party’s leadership in West Bengal also lashed out at Banerjee for her words. They said such “petty politics” can only be expected of the chief minister and TMC boss.
“It is very unfortunate. This kind of petty politics can be expected from leaders like Mamata Banerjee or Rahul Gandhi. She has insulted the efforts of our Indian team, which has won the last 10 matches consecutively without a single defeat. What about their efforts? It is only because of the stadium… but she is forgetting that she was also a part of the same party, Congress…Now she is talking about the saffron colour, the stadium. The people of West Bengal are suffering because of you. Your family heads sports institutions in West Bengal, what qualifications do they have to lead a sports association? And what results have you got for West Bengal in the last 12 years? So, stop doing such petty politics…” said BJP general secretary and MLA Agnimitra Paul.
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