Pulwama terror attack: Virat Kohli statement on Indo-Pak World Cup game
Visakhapatnam, Feb 23: India captain Virat Kohli Saturday said that his team will "respect the decision of the government" with regards to playing Pakistan in the upcoming World Cup in the wake of the Pulwama terror attacks where 40 CRPF personnel were martyred.
There has been calls to boycott the June 16 World Cup face-off against Pakistan at the Old Trafford in the aftermath of the dastardly attack but the Indian cricket board has not taken a call, putting the ball in government's court.
"Our stand is simple. We stick by what the nation wants to do and what the BCCI decides to do and that is basically our opinion," skipper Kohli said on the eve of India's opening T20 International against Australia on Sunday.
"Whatever the government and the board decide, we will eventually go by that and will respect that. So that is our stand on this particular issue," Kohli added.
The captain offered his condolences on behalf of the entire Indian team to the families of the martyred soldiers.
"Our sincere condolences to the families of the soldiers who lost their lives. The Indian team is really shocked and sad about what happened."
Kohli's stand is pretty similar to what chief coach Ravi Shastri echoed in an interview to a television channel where he said that the team will "accept whatever decision that the government takes."
"It's entirely left to the BCCI and the government. They know exactly what is happening and they will take a call. We will go by what they decide," Shastri told Mirror Now.
"If the government says it's that sensitive you do not need to play the World Cup, I will go by my government," the head coach further said.
On Friday, the Committee of Administrators run BCCI decided against taking any stand on the World Cup clash against Pakistan but urged the ICC and other nations to "sever ties" with countries from where "terrorism emanates".
"The 16th of June is very far away. We will take a call on that much later and in consultation with the government," CoA chief Vinod Rai had said on Friday
"We must sever ties with nations from which such terrorism emanates. We will express our concern on an appropriate forum," Rai had further added.
There has been divided opinion among cricket fraternity with Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin tendulkar urging India to play and beat Pakistan denying them any leeway in the tournament.
However there are counter-views with another former skipper Sourav Ganguly and one of country's top wicket takers Harbhajan Singh calling for a boycott of sporting ties with the neighbouring country.
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Women BJP MLAs protest against opposition in UP assembly premises
Lucknow (PTI): Women BJP MLAs held a protest in the Vidhan Bhawan complex before the one-day special session of Uttar Pradesh assembly, slamming the opposition for defeating the passage of a bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Law, in the Lok Sabha.
This followed another demonstration by Samajwadi Party MLAs, who alleged that the BJP was misleading public in the name of women's reservation.
The women BJP legislators assembled in front of Chaudhary Charan Singh's statue in the assembly premises, holding banners inscribed with the slogan "Insult to Matrushakti (women's power), India will not tolerate it". The protesting members entered the main hall of Vidhan Bhawan carrying the banners.
Participating in the protest, the state Minister for Women Welfare and Child Development, Baby Rani Maurya, told reporters that all opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, had opposed the women's reservation, a stance for which they would have to pay a heavy political price.
"On this issue, all of us women stand united. We will ensure that we secure our reservation," she said.
BJP MLA Ketki Singh remarked that their protest represents the collective outrage of millions of women across the state.
Singh asserted that the opposition has betrayed women by creating hurdles in the path of women's reservation. The current demonstration is merely the beginning, and very soon, women from every street, intersection and household will join the protest movement, she said.
Minister Vijaylakshmi Gautam said, "We strongly condemn the despicable act committed by the Samajwadi Party and the Congress in an attempt to hold back 'half the population' (women). Their action was directed against the very bill that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had introduced to empower and strengthen Nari Shakti (women's power), and which he strived to pass expeditiously."
Uttar Pradesh assembly is holding a one-day special session on Thursday. During the session, the government is set to move a censure motion against the opposition parties over their failure to pass the Constitution Amendment Bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Act, in the Lok Sabha.
