Khawaja to challenge ICC reprimand, says armband was for a bereavement
Melbourne (PTI): Bewildered by the ICC's decision to reprimand him for wearing a black armband during the first Test against Pakistan, Australia's Usman Khawaja on Friday said he will contest the charge as he had told the governing body it was for a "personal bereavement".
Khawaja had worn a black armband during Australia's 360-run win over Pakistan in Perth last week. He had arrived for a training session on December 13 with "all lives are equal" and "freedom is a human right" inscribed on his batting spikes and had reportedly planned to wear them during the inaugural Test.
"The ICC asked me day two (of the Perth Test) what (the black armband) was for, I told them it was for a personal bereavement. I never ever stated it was for anything else," Khawaja told reporters
"I respect the ICC and all the regulations they have, I will be asking them and contesting them From my point of view, that consistency hasn't been done yet."
"The shoes were for a different matter, I'm happy to say that, but the armband (reprimand) made no sense to me," he added.
The opener added that the global governing body had not applied the rules consistently.
"I followed all the regulations and past precedents guys have put stickers on their bats, names on their shoes, done all sorts of things in the past without ICC approval and never been reprimanded."
The ICC's regulations prevent players from displaying messages of political, religious or racial causes during international matches.
However, players can wear black armbands to mark deaths of former players, family members or other significant individuals after taking prior permission from the governing body.
The ICC reprimand for Khawaja wearing a black armband in Perth carries no financial or playing penalty.
Khawaja also denied he had "any hidden agendas" when he arrived for a training session with "all lives are equal" and "freedom is a human right" inscribed on his batting spikes, apparently in reference to the war in Gaza.
"I don't have any agendas other than trying to shine a light on what I feel really passionately, really strong about. I'm trying to do it in the most respectful way as possible," said Khawaja.
"What I wrote on my shoes was, really I thought about it for a while, what I was going to write. I made sure that I didn't want to segregate different parts of the population, religious beliefs, communities."
"Hence why I kept religion out of this. I want to be really broad over my speaking because I'm talking about humanitarian issues. I'm talking about article one of Unified Declaration of Human Rights. That is literally the crux of it," added Khawaja.
"The reason I'm doing it is because it hit me hard. I told Nick (Hockley, Cricket Australia chief) literally just this morning that when I'm looking at my Instagram and I'm seeing kids, innocent kinds, videos of them dying, passing away, that's what hit me the hardest.
"I just imagine my young daughter in my arms and the same thing. I get emotional talking about it right now again. And for me, that's the reason I'm doing this. I don't have any hidden agendas.
"If anything, you know, if anything, this brings up more negativity towards me. People come and start attacking me. I don't get anything out of this. I just feel like it's my responsibility to speak up on this."
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Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Mamata Banerjee of stalling SIR; TMC hits back
Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.
The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.
Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.
She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.
"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.
The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.
Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.
Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.
She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.
She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.
Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.
Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.
"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.
Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.
Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.
"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.
Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.
Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.
She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.
The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.
Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.
Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."
"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.
"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.
