BJP condemn Aussies behaviour against Pawar

Mumbai, Nov 7: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today joined the chorus to criticise the behaviour of Australian captain Ricky Ponting and Damien Martyn towards the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Chief Sharad Pawar during the prize distribution ceremony of the Champions Trophy on Sunday.

The two Australian players, in their eagerness to pose for camera, were seen tapping Mr Pawar on the shoulder as a gesture to leave the stage after taking the trophy from him.

Condemning the incident, Maharashtra BJP spokesperson and MLC Madhu Chawan said that the incident has left the people angry and demanded that Ponting should not be allowed to play in India till he apologises to Mr Pawar and the country. ''We should not also have any cricketing ties with Australia till they issue an apology,'' he said.

Mr Chawan also called upon all the political organisations to come together cutting across party lines and make Australia issue a public apology to both the country and Mr Pawar, who is a respected leader of the country.

The people of the country should also organise protests and demonstrations across the country seeking an apology from the two Australian players, he added.

Earlier in the day, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh had also denounced the behaviour of the Australian players.

Mr Deshmukh said, ''I saw the incident on television. The Australians' behaviour with Mr Pawar, who is a senior political leader as well as chief of the BCCI, was not good.'' Yesterday, batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar took a dig at the Australians and termed the victorious team's gesture as an 'unpleasant experience' and 'uncalled for' behaviour against a person who was dear to all cricketers.

UNI