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Journalism of Courage
Never short of fireworks, the India-Pakistan cricket clash at the Asia Cup in Dubai on Sunday saw one flare up off-field.
Congress leaders seized on video footage of BCCI Secretary Jay Shah appearing to turn down an offer to wave the national flag after India beat Pakistan in a thrilling finish. Many of them shared the video, with Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh tweeting in Hindi: “I have papa, keep the tricolour with you.”
Jay Shah is the son of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee took a dig at the Modi government’s Har Ghar Tiranga campaign for the 75th Independence Day. “The prodigal prince knows not of national pride. Jay Shah not wanting to hold the national flag is symptomatic of the larger hypocrisy of the ruling dispensation. They indulge in theatrics, lack values. Excel in jumlas, lack patriotism,” Banerjee tweeted.
Congress leader Ajoy Kumar used the video to attack the relaxation of government rules, allowing material other than khadi to be used for Tricolour. “Looks like the tricolour (offered to Jay Shah) was of ‘Khadi’… not of ‘polyester’!” he posted.
Congress Karnataka MLA Priyank Kharge wondered why Jay Shah would refuse to wave the Tricolour. “Any Indian would have done so reflexively. Did he want the Bhagwa Dhwaja or BJP flag?” he asked.
A top Indian cricket board official, on the condition of anonymity, said it was an “unnecessary controversy”. Shah, as the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president, was merely following protocol, he said, citing clause 2.2.2.1 in the council’s constitution regarding institutional conflicts of interest. “There in Dubai he wasn’t merely a BCCI secretary, he was the ACC chief,” the official said.
The said clause reads: “A Director, Committee Member or Staff Member must not promote the interests of any particular stakeholder (such as a National Cricket Federation or a group of National Cricket Federations), or of any third party (such as a governmental or political body), where doing so would conflict with his overriding duty to act in the best interests of all of the ICC (International Cricket Council)’s collective membership and the sport of cricket as a whole.”
Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, however, questioned this. “Staying neutral as ACC president doesn’t at any point mean being disrespectful to any nation’s flag, especially your own,” she tweeted, adding that carrying of the Tricolour was a symbol of one’s resolve and loyalty towards the nation. To “dismiss” it, she said, was an “insult” to the country’s 133 crore population.
TMC leader Derek O’Brien said: “Dear Amit Shah, please tell the nation whether this act infuriates you? Whether the act hurts your nationalistic sentiments? Or, will this act be forgiven only because he’s your son?… We are not looking for excuses. We are looking for concrete answers. Sincerely, an angry Indian.”
TMC spokesperson Saket Gokhale questioned the argument that Jay Shah did not hold the Tricolour because he was there as the ACC president and was following protocol. “The same BJP hounded former V-P Hamid Ansari when he (correctly by protocol) didn’t salute the flag during Republic Day parade as he wasn’t wearing headgear,” Gokhale said.
