India-Pak engagement only on battlefield: Abhishek
Abhishek Banerjee
on Monday said India shouldn't engage with Pakistan in any form, including sports, hours before he was leaving for Delhi to attend the monsoon session of Parliament.
"India must not engage with Pakistan in any sphere. The only engagement we should have with Pakistan is on the battlefield, and the only prize worth winning is Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK)," the Diamond Harbour MP said in a social media post.
His comments come a day after the Asia Cup 2025 schedule was announced in which India and Pakistan have been placed in the same group. The rival nations are set to play each other on Sept 14.
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Banerjee said calls to keep politics out of sport must stop, adding that attempts to allow sporting ties with a nation allegedly involved in proxy wars wasn't diplomacy but "a bloody betrayal".
"Let justice, not entertainment be our goal. If there is to be a match with Pakistan, let it be fought at the LoC and let PoK be the only trophy we seek," Banerjee said in his post where he also referenced the recent Pahalgam attack that claimed 26 lives.
"Anything less is an insult to our martyrs and injustice and betrayal to the victims of Pahalgam. Period!" he added.
Later, while speaking to reporters at the Kolkata airport, Banerjee said Trinamool MPs will continue to speak in Bengali in Parliament and accused BJP-governed states, such as Rajasthan, Gujarat and UP, of engaging in systematic violence and discrimination against Bengalis.
Asked for his views on illegal immigration, Banerjee said managing borders falls under the jurisdiction of the Union ministry of home affairs, BSF and CRPF.
He demanded the resignation of the Union home minister and chiefs of the BSF and IB for what he called "repeated security failures".
On the upcoming assembly polls in Bengal, Banerjee said if BJP continues on its current political path, the verdict in the polls will be even more decisive than in 2021 and 2024. "Those torturing the people of Bengal, remember — the lesson in 2026 will be even more severe," he said.
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