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Aggressively pursuing its campaign against Pakistani personalties, Shiv Sena workers on Monday stormed the headquarters of the Board of Control for Cricket in India forcing cancellation of scheduled talks with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Shaharyar Khan here over resumption of bilateral cricketing ties.
The talks on the proposed bilateral series will now be held in Delhi on Tuesday.
The attack also added to the growing chasm between NDA partners, with State BJP President Raosaheb Danve asserting that his party did not agree with the Sena action and that it will provide protection to Pakistan team in the event of it playing a match here.
Ten Sena workers were arrested on charges of unlawful assembly and violating the Police Commissioner’s order to refrain from such gathering, a senior police officer said.
They were later granted bail by a local court on a personal bond of ₹2,000.
The noisy protests by over a hundred slogan-shouting members carrying placards at the Board office during which BCCI President Shashank Manohar was ghearoed, forced the cancellation of the much-anticipated talks between him and Khan.
“The talks have not been called off. The dialogue will continue. Mr Manohar and Mr Khan will speak to each other in evening today (on Monday) and tomorrow (on Tuesday) they are coming to Delhi for another round of talks,” IPL Chairman and senior Board functionary Rajiv Shukla told PTI.
Shouting slogans against Pakistan and the PCB chairman, the Sena workers confronted Manohar, asking him not to have any ties with the neighbouring country, which they said sponsors terrorism.
The attack sparked condemnation with Sena’s ally BJP saying there is no place for “hooliganism” while Congress called it “abominable”.
An unfazed Shiv Sena justified the action, claiming they were only reflecting the feelings of the people of this country as they were opposed to any relations with Pakistan till they stop terrorist activities.
The attack comes days after Sena activists blackened the face of former BJP strategist Sudheendra Kulkarni for refusing to cancel the book launch of former Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri and forced the cancellation of renowned Pakistani ghazal singer Ghulam Ali’s concert in the city.
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