Kolkata: Two days after Rahul Gandhi's 'panauti' jibe, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said Team India won all matches in the World Cup 2023 except the final that was attended by "sinners". She even went on to say that the Men in Blue would have won the trophy had the grand finale been held in Kolkata or Mumbai.
Addressing the Trinamool Congress workers at Netaji Indoor Stadium today, Banerjee said, "They (Team India) had won all the matches except the one that was attended by the sinners". Banerjee further said, "If the final was held in Eden (Gardens in Kolkata) or Wankhede (Stadium in Mumbai) then we would have won."
On November 21, Gandhi at a rally in Rajasthan's Jhalore had said that India would have won had it not been for a "panauti" (bad omen). The comment sparked off a controversy in the political circle with the BJP urging the Election Commission to take action against Gandhi for his "derogatory" comment.
Banerjee also criticised that Indian players were given saffron-coloured jerseys, a colour associated with the BJP. She said that the players opposed and did not wear it during the matches. The usual blue-coloured jerseys were worn at the World Cup matches while the saffron ones were worn during the practice matches, she said.
Accusing BJP of politicising sports, Banerjee said all the federations have been taken over by political parties. "There is saffron in cricket, kabaddi, everywhere," she said. "Saffron is the colour of 'tyagis' (ascetics) but you (BJP) are 'bhogis' (worldly people).
Last week, Banerjee had accused BJP of saffronising institutes including the Indian cricket team who wore saffron-coloured practice jerseys. Asserting that everything was being turned to saffron, she said that Team India's practice jerseys have been turned into saffron though earlier it was blue-coloured. BJP had responded saying even the dress of Netherlands cricket team is saffron.
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