NEW DELHI: The Congress party has criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his comments linking India’s recent Asia Cup win with Operation Sindoor. Congress leader Atul Londhe Patil expressed doubt regarding the Prime Minister’s understanding of foreign policy and diplomacy, stating, “If we played, we should have played with sportsman spirit.” His remarks followed Modi’s post on social media platform X, which read, “Operation Sindoor on the games field. Outcome is the same – India wins! Congrats to our cricketers.”
Patil further explained that if Operation Sindoor is still ongoing, the national team should not have participated in the match. He also suggested that if discussions were in progress to normalize relations, sports should serve as a medium to foster these improvements. “Linking everything with Operation Sindoor is not right,” he added.
Maharashtra Congress president Harshvardhan Sakpal also commented on Modi’s tweet, suggesting that the Prime Minister tends to politicize various aspects of life, including sports, to polarize opinions. “We take pride in India’s victory, but we haven’t won the Asia Cup for the first time. There is a certain dignity of a country which he doesn’t maintain, and I regret this,” Sakpal said.
India claimed its second T20I Asia Cup title and the ninth overall, including ODI formats, by successfully chasing down 147 runs against Pakistan in the final match in Dubai on Sunday. Key performances included an unbeaten 69 from Tilak Varma, who contributed to crucial partnerships with Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube.
In an unusual turn of events following the match, Pakistan’s interior minister Mohsin Naqvi, who also leads the Asian Cricket Council, declined to present the Asia Cup trophy to the Indian team when they refused to accept it from him.
