SAFF Championship: India-Pakistan match set to be played on schedule
Bengaluru (PTI): After several anxious moments, the SAFF Championship 2023 football match between India and Pakistan is all set to be played as scheduled on Wednesday here at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium.
Uncertainty had shrouded the arrival of Pakistan team from Mauritius after the delay in processing their visa.
But on Monday night the Indian Embassy cleared all the pending applications, paving way for the smooth travel of Pakistan squad to India for the tournament.
Pakistan team was in Mauritius to take part in the Four-Nation tournament, which was clinched by Djibouti.
"The Pakistan is expected to land in the City by late evening or in the night and the match on Wednesday is set to be played on schedule at 7.30 PM IST. The AIFF is constantly monitoring the situation and we are confident that a rescheduling of the match will not happen at this stage," a Karnataka State Football Association (KSFA) official told PTI.
Pakistan team's departure from Mauritius was delayed after the Indian Embassy was closed for the previous weekend, and visa clearance did not take place.
The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) had blamed the country's National Sports Board for issuing the NOC to play in India late for the imbroglio.
The sports board, however, returned the favour saying the federation submitted the documents essential for the NOC at the last minute, leading to an inevitable delay.
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Choose faith or future: BJP alleges 'second-class treatment' of Hindus in K'natka CET row
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Saturday accused the Karnataka Congress government of being "anti-Hindu" and following double standards after students appearing for the Common Entrance Test (CET) were allegedly asked to remove their 'janeu'.
A political row erupted after five Brahmin students were allegedly forced to remove the thread, considered sacred and worn across the torsos, at a city college in during the CET on Friday.
Students alleged that the invigilators at Madivala asked them to remove their janeu/yajnopaveetha if they wanted to write the exam.
In a video post on X, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla lambasted the act.
"Is it a crime to be a Hindu in Karnataka? In Karnataka, students were stopped from entering the examination hall for wearing a janeu and were given a brutal option -- choose your faith or your future. This happened last year as well," Poonawalla alleged.
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He accused the Karnataka government of practising double standards and engaging in appeasement politics.
"In Karnataka, we have seen the politics of appeasement. Muslim reservation, a Muslim-only budget, and quotas and contractual work for Muslims. But Hindus have to remove their sacred thread if they want to take an exam, which even the courts have, by the way, allowed," he alleged.
He accused the Congress government of adopting a similar approach in other states where it is in power, while allowing hijab and burka in classrooms.
"It has happened in various Congress-ruled states. We have seen that the Congress party advocates the right to hijab and burkha within the classroom. They say this should be allowed. Even the courts have overruled it.
"But in the case of janeu, they want it to be removed. This is not the first time this has happened. In Telangana and other states, the tilak and mangalsutra were removed. But hijab is fine. This is the kind of second-class treatment being given to Hindus," he added.
Poonawalla said the Congress should rename itself from INC to "MMC -- Muslim League Maowadi Congress" or the "Islamic National Caliphate Party".
As the controversy took a political turn, the college suspended the invigilator pending inquiry. The government also ordered a probe.
The police registered a case and detained three staff members of Krupanidhi College who were in charge of examination checking for questioning, officials said.
A similar incident took place last year in Karnataka, following which the government directed that the candidates would not be asked to remove the janeu while appearing for the CET.
