Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union minister Anurag Thakur faced significant backlash after a photograph of him with former Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi during an India-Pakistan cricket match in Dubai went viral.
The surprising association generated media buzz due to Afridi’s previous controversial appeals and campaign. Afridi who has a history of being involved with the Pakistan Army is known for his vocal campaign on social media against India where he advocated to merge Kashmir with Pakistan.
The image shows BJP MP Thakur and Afridi sitting close in a classroom and watching the India-Pakistan Champions Trophy match held in Dubai International Stadium.
The image was widely circulated on social media platforms shortly after India triumphed over Pakistan by six wickets and secured their spot in the semi-finals placing Pakistan in a precarious position.
Amid the victory celebrations, the photos of Thakur with Afridi garnered significant public attention. It is pertinent to note that Thakur is known for his Islamophobic stance.
After the viral image, several internet users started digging out old tweets of Afridi where he had openly criticized India for arresting Kashmiri separatist leader and former militant Yasin Malik as well as army action in Kashmir. In a series of tweets, he had vehemently called India an “oppressive country”, while voicing for the liberation of Kashmir state.
Subsequently, several political leaders and internet users bombarded the internet with strong condemnation, questioning Thakur’s presence with Afridi who has a history of “ranting” against India.
While sharing this image on X, Congress leader Gaurav Pandhi described Thakur’s conduct as hypocritical. “Anurag Thakur, after enjoying Biryani with Shahid Afridi! BJP-RSS’s ideology in a nutshell: Pakistani Muslim Indian Muslim Hypocrisy so strong, even their own WhatsApp groups must be confused!” he wrote.
Reacting to the image, Entrepreneur Divya Gandotra Tandon also took a jibe at Thakur, stating,” Wow, what a display of sportsman spirit! But just in case you’ve had a sudden bout of selective amnesia, @ianuragthakur ji, Shahid Afridi is the same guy who cheered for the ‘Free Kashmir’ movement and couldn’t resist making separatist statements. But hey, who’s keeping track, right?”.
“If it had been any Congress leader instead of Anurag Thakur, Bhakts would have declared him Anti-National by now. Shahid Afridi calls Kashmir a part of Pakistan,” wrote one user while sharing anti-India tweets of Afridi.
“In India, an FIR would have been filed against those cheering a rival team’s star reaching a milestone. Channels would have done non-stop coverage on the ‘traitors’. Anurag Goli Maro Thakur, spotted sitting happily with Shahid Afridi, would have screeched some vicious slogan,” wrote journalist Rohini Singh.
“BJP MP Anurag Thakur who gave hate speeches against Indian Muslims enjoying #INDvsPAK cricket match with Shahid Afridi (who gave an anti-India speech in PoK),” wrote another user.
