23 January 1999
Pakistan cricketers arrive in Delhi
Pallab Bhattacharya
Pressure from foes and friends prompts Sena to reverse stand
NEW DELHI, Jan 22: Besieged by condemnation from political friends
and foes and beefed up security by the Indian government, Shiv Sena
has suspended its threat to disrupt the Pakistan cricket team's tour
of India hours before the Pakistan squad led by Wasim Akram flew in
here yesterday evening.
The Shiv Sena's dramatic reversal of stand, coming a day after party
supremo Ball Thackeray thundered that its activists would thwart the
Pakistani tour, was brought off by a request from Prime Minister Atal
Behari Vajpayee who earlier declared that his government would ensure
smooth conduct of the Indo-Pak Test and one-day series beginning
tomorrow.
Vajpayee's request was conveyed by his cabinet colleague and Home
Minister L K Advani who flew to Bombay and met Thackeray on an
unscheduled and unusual mission Wednesday morning.
Advani and Thackeray met for an hour at a hotel near Bombay airport
after which a joint statement was read out by Vajpayee confidant and
Indian Information and Broadcasting Minister Pramod Mahajan who
announced the Sena's suspension of the threat for only this year.
Mahajan informed media persons that Thackeray told Advani that he was
a cricket lover and could not oppose the game as such. But he was
concerned about Pakistan's violence in Jammu and Kashmir and
ISI-sponsored subversion in other parts of India.
While sports circles in India heaved sigh of relief following Shiv
Sena's suspension of threat, Advani's meeting with Thackeray
Wednesday drew sharp reaction from major opposition parties which
dubbed it as Vajpayee government's "capitulation" to radical forces.
Former Prime Minister V P Singh said the meeting shows "where the
centre of power lies" while the Congress said "Advani went down on
his knees and prostrated before Thackeray to get him to withdraw his
threat to disrupt the matches."
The Left parties accused the Vajpayee government of going "soft" on
Shiv Sena's "open defiance of law" and said Advani's meeting with
Thackeray was "nothing but appeasement,"
The opposition parties were cautious in taking Sena's suspension of
the threat at face value and asked the government not to lax the
top-gear security already mounted for the Indo-Pak Test series.
Mounting pressure on the Vajpayee government from its allies,
including Trinamool Congress, AIADMK, Akali Dal and Telugu Desam, and
the opposition and fears of international embarrassments promoted the
Prime Minister to send Advani to Thackeray to buy peace.
Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee had asked Vajpayee to
dismiss Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra State (where BJP shares
power with Sena) and suggested BJP snap ties with Thackeray's party.
The Telegu Desam Party led by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister had
suggested to Vajpayee to consider sacking the Sena government in
Maharashtra if it persisted with the threat to disrupt the Pakistani
tour while AIADMK chief Jayalalitha wanted the arrest of Shiv Sena
workers out to foil the series.
The Shiv Sena threat found its first concrete expression when the
pitch at Delhi's Ferozshah Kotla Stadium was dug up on January 6
prompting the Indian government to clamp unprecedented security in
and around the stadia in eight states where the Pakistani team is
scheduled to play matches against India and Sri Lanka in the coming
weeks.
Despite Shiv Sena's suspension of threat, the Indian government is
not taking any chances as far as the security for the tour was
concerned.
Indian Home Secretary B P Singh said there would be no let-up in
security arrangements made for smooth holding of the cricket matches
under which all stadia would be handed over to the police 48 hours
ahead of start of matches and central security teams would escort the
teams wherever they travel.
Tightest security cover has also been put on the hotels where the
teams would stay and police would be deployed on routes from hotels
to the stadia. Sten-gun carrying security personnel would accompany
the players' vehicles for practice sessions before the matches.
The Pakistan team starts its tour with a three-day match against
India 'A' team at Gwalior city in Madhya Pradesh state before the
First Test which begins in Madras from January 28.
The Second Test is slated to be held in Delhi on February 4 while
India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka play a triangular limited overs
competition spread over different cities. The three countries will
also figure in the first-ever Test championship of Asia to be held in
Calcutta in March after the Tests and limited-over matches.
Meanwhile, manager of Pakistan team Sharyar Khan, former foreign
secretary of that country, told reporters on arrival at Delhi that
"we are here to honour India's invitation and to promote good
relations between the two countries. This tour is not merely about
winning and losing matches but about bringing the people of the two
countries together."
Responding to a question relating to Shiv Sena's threat, the seasoned
diplomat said, "We were coming irrespective of whether the threats
were withdrawn or not."
Advani met Pakistani players and officials at their New Delhi hotel
apparently to assure them of adequate security during their stay in
India.
The Indian team flew into Calcutta yesterday after a tour of New
Zealand. As a precaution, cricket authorities had changed plans to
have the team touch down in Bombay and kept the destination secret
before arrival.
Source :: The Bangladesh Daily Star (https://www.dailystarnews.com)