Tamil Nadu Congress General Secretary Dhivya Marunthiah stirred up a controversy on Monday after he tweeted in support of the Pakistan cricket team amid the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023 in India.
Slamming the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over religious extremism in the country, Marunthiah took to X to post an old picture of the saffron supporters with the BJP flag at the 2023 World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and New Zealand at The Oval in London.
"Remember this?! Ok. This country is lost to the religious extremists.
"I really really hope PAK will win this World Cup. JaiShriRam," Marunthiah tweeted but immediately faced backlash from netizens.
BJP & BCCI under fire
The BJP meanwhile, has also come under fire over the hostile treatment that the Pakistan cricket team received when they played against India in the high-profile World Cup clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on October 14.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam and wicketkeeper Muhammad Rizwan were among several players who were booed and taunted with chants of Jai Shri Ram by the Indian spectators at the venue.
Videos of the Jai Shri Ram chanting crowd and booing Babar Azam went viral on social media during and after the match.
Opposition targets BJP, Pak fans & Mickey Arthur slam BCCI
Indian leaders from opposition parties and Pakistani fans have since been complaining of the treatment dished out to the players.
Notably, the BCCI secretary Jay Shah is the son of BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Both were present at the stadium and witnessed all this happening at the time.
Pakistan team director Mickey Arthur later criticised the tournament organisers over the lack of support for his team in the stadium during the match.
Pakistan lost to India by 7 wickets in a one-sided contest on Saturday thanks to the brilliance of captain Rohit Sharma and the bowling attack led by Jasprit Bumrah.
