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'Boot out the Aussie players'

Updated on: 10 October,2009 07:31 AM IST |
A correspondent |

MNS candidate Shishir Shinde wants cricketers to be at the receiving end of the same treatment that Indians are given in Australia

MNSu00a0candidate Shishir Shinde wants cricketers to be at the receiving end of the same treatment that Indians are given in Australia

Shishir Shinde and cricket, it seems, are inseparable.

The former Shiv Sainik, who gained notoriety for digging up the Wankhede Stadium pitch to oppose an India-Pakistan match in 1991, has now set his eyes on the visiting Australian team.

Racist attacks

"I will throw the first boot at the Australian cricket team, if I see them in Maharashtra," said Shinde, during MNS chief Raj Thackeray's rally at Shivaji Park yesterday.
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He added that the people of Maharashtra should greet the cricketers with chappals and boots.

However, when pointed out that such a behaviour would be unjustified, as Australian cricketers had criticised the attacks, he told MiD DAY, "Only Shane Warne criticised the attacks.

He is no longer part of the Australian cricket team, so his criticism does not hold ground." The Australians are scheduled to tour India later this month.

Though the rally saw a huge turnout, Raj's speech was a disappointment with the same rhetoric used against Ashok Chavan and Sonia and Rahul Gandhi.
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The MNS chief also spoke about his connection with numbers 13 and 22 the date of the Assembly election and results respectively.
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"Last year, I was arrested on February 13, hence it's a lucky day and I was released on October 22 after spending a night in jail."

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