NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday strongly favoured ‘not playing cricket’ with Pakistan saying whatever the monetary loss such matches should be avoided.
“….Yeh mera vyaktigat matt hae. Bilkul nahi karna chahiye. (This is my personal opinion, but that there should be no match),” Mr Singh told Republic TV in an interview.
“…..cricket bilkul nahi khelna chahiye. Kitna bhi nuksan hojaye (We should not play cricket with Pakistan even if there is monetary loss),” the Home Minister said answering questions.
Mr Singh is third senior BJP leader and key representative in the Union cabinet after Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Textiles Minister Smriti Irani to say that there should be no cricketing ties with Pakistan.
To a question, he also said, the cricket board should ‘take a call’ on this and the onus was hardly on the government on matters like this.
Answering questions, the Home Minister said government will apply all options to give Pakistan a befitting response on the Pulwama terror attack.
“Whatever strategic, diplomatic, political and constitutional steps that will have to taken, will be taken by us,” he said.
Asked whether these also include ‘military actions’, Mr Singh said – “Yeh kehene ki jarurat nahi hai, sab kuch shamil hai (There is no need to specify this….everything is included in what I have said)”.
(AGENCIES)
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