India’s World Cup campaign was outstanding — till the final. Rohit Sharma’s men were undefeated throughout the mega event, but Australia shattered a billion dreams on November 19 when they beat the Men In Blue.
It couldn’t have been grander as the crowd at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi — the biggest cricket stadium in the world that can host 132,000 spectators — went completely silent.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also present to witness his team lose the match.
But was it Modi due to whose presence India lost? Well, Indian opposition party Congress leader Rahul Gandhi thinks so.
Speaking at a rally in an election rally in Rajasthan on Tuesday, according to Live Mint, Gandhi indirectly blamed PM Modi for the team’s defeat at the World Cup.
"Our guys were playing well, they would have won the world cup. But 'Panauti' (bad luck) made us lose. The TV guys won't tell you this but people know."
In response, Ravi Shankar Prasad, who is a leader of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), demanded an apology from Gandi.
"What happened to you, Rahul Gandhi? You are using such words for the Prime Minister of the country. Our Prime Minister met the players and motivated them. Winning or losing is part of the game. Rahul Gandhi needs to apologise," Prasad was quoted by news agency ANI as saying.
Congress leader KC Venugopal, according to the Indian Express, defended Gandhi’s jibe.
“Rahul has said what many have been thinking since 2 days! The World Cup finals was a moment of pride for 140 crore Indians and we were all looking forward to this historic occasion, but they were desperate to hijack it for their political mileage.”