Opposition Slams BCCI's Jay Shah Over Turing Down Offer To Wave Tricolour During India-Pakistan game

[MenInG]

Video footage of BCCI secretary Jay Shah appearing to turn down an offer to wave the national flag after India beat Pakistan in a thrilling cricket match at the Asia Cup in Dubai on Sunday has sparked a controversy, with Opposition leaders taking a dig at him.

However, Shiv Sena's Priyanka Chaturvedi defended Shah in a tweet, saying "staying neutral as ACC (Asian Cricket Council) president doesn't at any point mean being disrespectful to any nation's flag, especially your own. So trolls, sit down".

Chaturvedi's tweet came minutes after she herself attacked Shah on Twitter, saying the tricolour in hand is a symbol of the resolve and loyalty of Indians to the nation and to "dismiss it in this way is an insult to the country's 133 crore population".

Several Congress leaders slammed Jay Shah, who is Union Home Minister Amit Shah's son.

Tagging the video footage of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) appearing to turn down an offer to wave the flag, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh tweeted in Hindi: "I have papa, keep the tricolour with you."

Congress leader Ajoy Kumar also tweeted the footage and wrote in Hindi: "Looks like the tricolour was of 'Khadi'... not of 'polyester'!"

The Congress has been strongly criticising an amendment of the flag code under which the national flag can now be made of polyester and with the help of machines.

Tagging the video, Trinamool Congress (TMC) general secretary Abhishek Banerjee tweeted: "The prodigal prince knows not of national pride. Jay Shah not wanting to hold the national flag is symptomatic of the larger hypocrisy of the ruling dispensation. They indulge in theatrics, lack values. Excel in jumlas, lack patriotism."

Commenting on the video, TMC leader Derek O'Brien said: "Dear Amit Shah, please tell the nation whether this act infuriates you? Whether the act hurts your nationalistic sentiments? Or, will this act be forgiven only because he's your son?"

"We are not looking for excuses. We are looking for concrete answers. Sincerely, an angry Indian," he said.

TMC spokesperson Saket Gokhale said the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has argued that Jay Shah did not hold the tricolour on Sunday night because he was there as the ACC president and was following protocol.

"The same BJP hounded former VP Hamid Ansari when he (correctly by protocol) didn't salute the flag during Republic Day parade as he wasn't wearing headgear," Gokhale said.

Hardik Pandya came up with a special all-round effort as India held their nerves to pull off an exciting five-wicket win over Pakistan in the match.

(With PTI inputs)


https://www.outlookindia.com/nation...ring-india-pakistan-cricket-match-news-219654

 

[Hitman]

) @ the issue.

 

[MenInG]

Dubai International Cricket Stadium was buzzing on Sunday, August 28 as it was time for another episode of India vs Pakistan, this time in their Asia Cup 2022 opening match. The continental tournament, taking place for the first time since 2018, could not have asked for a better episode of one of the fiercest rivalries in sport, let alone cricket, as the match went down the wire, needing last-over heroics from a certain Hardik Pandya who won it for India.

It was no surprise that fans had queued up hours in advance outside the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, waiting to catch a glimpse of their favourite cricket superstars from either side of the border in action. Braving the afternoon heat in Dubai, thousands of cricket fans flooded the streets, showcasing why India vs Pakistan is still arguably the most-anticipated contest in world cricket.

While 22 stars took the field in the high-octane India-Pakistan contest under the 'Ring of Fire' at the Dubai stadium, there was no dearth of superstars and cricket bigwigs at the stands.

Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief and Indian cricket board secretary, Jay Shah, was a proud man as he watched on India captain Rohit Sharma and his Pakistan counterpart Babar Azam walking out for the toss as the Asia Cup was being staged after the organisers successfully cleared plenty of hurdles.

Originally scheduled to be held in 2020, the latest edition of the Asia Cup was postponed more than once due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The economic and political crises in host nation Sri Lanka also cast doubts on the tournament but the ACC organisers successfully moved the tournament to the UAE

Jay Shah was leading the cheering team as he was flanked by BCCI treasurer Arun Singh Dhumal, who is also the brother of Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur along with other bigwigs of Indian cricket. The television cameras were busy, trying to capture the emotions of the fans and ACC top brass as the India-Pakistan contest went down the wire.

Jay Shah was seen exchanging pleasantries with Emirates Cricket Board chairman Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan as the chief of the host board was watching the high-octane contest. Saad Bajwa, the son of Qamar Javed Bajwa- Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan, was also spotted at the stands, cheering for Babar’s men.

As expected, Bollywood stars did not miss an opportunity to grab the limelight at the stands as the likes of Vijay Devarkonda, who has been on a whirlwind tour promoting his new film Liger, and Urvashi Rautela, who recently kicked up a storm with her comments about a certain 'RP' waiting to meet her at a New Delhi hotel, also added to the atmosphere.

And when the winning six was sent into the stands by Hardik Pandya, the contrasting emotions were evident as Indian fans rejoiced while Pakistan supporters had their heads buried in their hands. The equation got down to 6 from 3 balls when Hardik sent one into the night sky, asserting his status as one of the finest all-rounders.

There was political mudslinging also on Monday morning in India as opposition leaders questioned Jay Shah's refusal to accept the national flag from someone who shared the box as the VIP guests celebrated India's victory. In a video that went viral on social media, Shah was seen politely refusing to wave the national flag when one of his mates offered it to him at the stadium.

Jay Shah, the ACC president, was merely following International Cricket Council guidelines when he refused to wave the Indian flag. As a representative of the Asian Cricket Council, Shah waving the tri-colour would have amounted to 'institutional' conflict of interest.

According to Clause 2.2.2.2 of ICC"s Code of Ethics, "A Director, Committee Member or Staff Member must not promote the interests of any particular stakeholder (such as a National Cricket Federation or a group of National Cricket Federations), or of any third party (such as a governmental or political body), where doing so would conflict with his overriding duty to act in the best interests of all of the ICC's collective membership and the sport of cricket as a whole".

Jay Shah was evidently enjoying the contest between two of the arch-rivals and India finding a way to get past the finish line in the tense finish but the ACC chief, rightly, stayed away from expressing his support for Team India to avoid the ethical conflict.

Meanwhile, Jay Shah began his Monday by wishing India's sports stars and other stakeholders the best on National Sports Day.

"India is a nation with endless possibilities in sports. Our sportspersons have been showing immense strength and dedication across sports to keep India at the forefront. On this #NationalSportsDay2022, let us celebrate the efforts of all our sportspersons, from past and present," Shah said.

https://www.indiatoday.in/sports/cr...n-thrilling-asia-cup-match-1993982-2022-08-29

 

[cricketjoshila]

) @ the issue.

Opposition is bankrupt.

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

) @ the issue.

Opposition is bankrupt.

From the article itself:

TMC spokesperson Saket Gokhale said the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has argued that Jay Shah did not hold the tricolour on Sunday night because he was there as the ACC president and was following protocol.

"The same BJP hounded former VP Hamid Ansari when he (correctly by protocol) didn't salute the flag during Republic Day parade as he wasn't wearing headgear," Gokhale said.

Saw many tweets from rightwingers slamming Jay Shah in Twitter.

 

[MP2011]

Poor from the opposition. Looks like they are bankrupt of any issues to corner this regime. They've so many issues to rake (which I know they do raise from time to time) but this one is a non issue.

However, sanghis called for this on themselves. The way they have created an atmosphere of fake nationalism in the country by acts of fake patriotism, this had to happen sooner or later.

 

[MP2011]

Most hilarious was the statement from motabhai about Congress protesting on 5th August in black clothes about raging inflation.

He insinuated that since bhumi pujan of Shri Ram temple was done on 5th August and Congress is protesting on 5th August in black clothes, means they are against the construction of Shri Ram temple!

feku went one step further. He said by donning black clothes, Congress is doing black magic on country! And this illiterate is leading a country of 140 crore people!

 

[Varun]

Most hilarious was the statement from motabhai about Congress protesting on 5th August in black clothes about raging inflation.

He insinuated that since bhumi pujan of Shri Ram temple was done on 5th August and Congress is protesting on 5th August in black clothes, means they are against the construction of Shri Ram temple!

feku went one step further. He said by donning black clothes, Congress is doing black magic on country! And this illiterate is leading a country of 140 crore people!

And the problem is that people will fall for that explanation.

 

[MP2011]

And the problem is that people will fall for that explanation.

They already have. If anyone has done black magic (not that I believe in this rubbish) on Indians, its feku & co.

They lap up whatever feku throws towards them.

 

[Rajdeep]

Though I am not a fan of Jay Shah as he is a product of nepotism as well, something our PM strongly opposed during his Independence Day speech, but he was there as ACC head, isn't it? His role demands him to stay neutral and that is why he refused to wave Indian flag. It is akin to how commentators supposed to stay neutral even though we know they have their biases.

Leftists/Opposition/Congressis seems to be unhappy with Pakistan defeat and invoking controversies when there are none. After all the same congress wala (some of them not all) were celebrating in twitter when India lost against them in WT20 2021 saying 'Bhakton ke paapa aaj haar gaye'. Check Ashok Swain's twitter for example, he is so unhappy since the game on sunday...same guy who was going after Modi when we lost against them last year.

 

[Varun]

Though I am not a fan of Jay Shah as he is a product of nepotism as well, something our PM strongly opposed during his Independence Day speech, but he was there as ACC head, isn't it? His role demands him to stay neutral and that is why he refused to wave Indian flag. It is akin to how commentators supposed to stay neutral even though we know they have their biases.

Tell me what the apple of your eye is doing with Bajwa's son?

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Jay Shah did the right thing.

 

[MenInG]

Jay Shah did the right thing.

To be honest I think he was a bit too animated for someone who is supposed to be a president