"What more does he have to do?" Shashi Tharoor comes out in support of Sanju Samson after ODI snub
Tharoor shares meme, questions BCCI for dropping Kerala cricketer
Thiruvananthapuram: Senior Congress leader and MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor on Thursday once again batted for Kerala batsman Sanju Samson and extended support to the calls of his selection into the Indian team.
Tharoor took to his official Twitter handle and raised questions over dropping the wicket-keeper batsman from the Indian national team for the upcoming Sri Lanka ODI series.
He shared a meme that he said was being widely shared in Kerala. The meme claimed despite having the highest batting average in ODIs among Indian batters, Samson still missed a deserved match at his home venue Trivandram.
India is set to play one of the ODI matches in Kerala’s Trivandrum.
“This meme about @IamSanjuSamson is going around in Kerala. I have to say I agree with it. What more does he have to do to get a deserved place in India’s ODI XI?” Tharoor wrote in his tweet besides tagging the official handle of BCCI in it.
Tharoor has on several occasions extended support to the fans of Sanju Samson who largely claim that the Kerala cricketer gets ignored by the BCCI due to his South Indian origin.
This meme about @IamSanjuSamson is going around in Kerala. I have to say I agree with it. What more does he have to do to get a deserved place in India’s ODI XI? @BCCI pic.twitter.com/w4eL7kSfEd
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) December 29, 2022
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I leave it up to sensible people of Karnataka to decide who is at fault: Sonu Nigam
New Delhi, May 5 (PTI): Popular singer Sonu Nigam in a statement on Monday reiterated his love for the Kannada people but felt compelled to confront the young men who "threatened" him during a live concert over language issues.
His statement comes after the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) announced a 'non-cooperation' campaign against the singer for his allegedly controversial remark which hurt the sentiments of the Kannadaigas during a recent concert in Bengaluru.
An FIR was also registered at the Avalahalli Police Station in Bengaluru on May 3 against Nigam for reportedly retorting, "Kannada. Kannada. This is the reason behind the incident in Pahalgam," in response to an audience member's request to sing in Kannada last month at a concert in the city.
In the statement posted on Instagram, the singer said he will cooperate with the police authorities of Karnataka in the matter and always "cherish the love" he has received from the people of the state irrespective of the verdict.
"I leave it up to the sensible people of Karnataka to decide who is at fault here. I will accept your verdict gracefully. I fully respect and trust the law agencies and Police of Karnataka and will comply with whatever is expected from me," Nigam wrote.
Regardless of the love he has received from the people of Karnataka, the playback singer said he was not some "young lad" who would take humiliation from anyone.
"I am 51 years old, in the second half of my life and am entitled to take offence for someone as young as my son threatening me directly in front of thousands in the name of language that too Kannada which is my second language when it comes to my work. That too right after my first song of the concert! He provoked a few more. Their own people were embarrassed and were asking them to shut up..
"I told them very politely and lovingly the show has just started, it's my first song and that I will not let them down, but they have to let me continue with the concert the way I have planned. Every artiste has a song list prepared so the musicians and technicians are in sync. But they were hell bent on creating ruckus and threatening me wildly. Tell me who is at fault?" he asked.
As a patriot, Nigam said, he loathes anyone trying to create hate in the name of "language, caste or religion", especially after the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam which claimed the lives of 26 people, including two from Karnataka.
"I had to school them, and I did, and thousands of students and teachers cheered me for it. The matter got over and I sang Kannada for more than an hour. It's all there on social media," he added.
On Saturday, Nigam shared a video on Instagram in which he defended himself after an FIR was filed against him for allegedly offending the sentiments of Kannadigas during the concert.
In the clip, the singer said he was "threatened" by a small group of boys to sing in Kannada at the event. He, however, also urged people "not to generalise" or hold the entire community responsible for the actions of a few.
The incident occurred during a live concert on April 25 at a college in Bengaluru. Nigam paused his performance when someone from the audience loudly demanded that he sing in Kannada. Frustrated by the repeated shouts of "Kannada, Kannada," the singer responded sharply from the stage.
In a video that went viral on social media, Nigam is also heard saying that some of the best songs of his career are in Kannada and that Karnataka has always treated him like family, but he was irked by how the demand was made.
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