The Shiv Sena on Friday slammed Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde for assuring security to the Pakistan cricket team and said he deserved Nishan-e-Pakistan, that country’s highest civilian honour.
“For your efforts, you need to be honoured with the Nishan-e-Pakistan or Order of Pakistan,” an editorial in Sena mouthpiece Saamna said.
The Sena also lambasted Indian cricket players for agreeing to play with Pakistan. “How come none of you feels ashamed of playing with Pakistan? None of them has stood up and said anything against playing with Pakistan. Everyone is after money,” the edit said.
The Sena has been vocal in its opposition to allowing Pakistani players to play in India since the 1980s. The 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai made the Sena more belligerent in its demands that Pakistani cricketers be kept out of the country.
The Sena had threatened to disrupt the matches. Shinde, responding to Sena’s opposition, had said politics and sports should not be mixed. He said he would ensure adequate security for the Pakistani cricket team.