Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday sparked the row over the ongoing political debate on India’s loss in the cricket World Cup final against Australia, saying that India lost the match against the Aussies because it was played on former prime minister Indira Gandhi’s birth anniversary on November 19.

“That day, the India vs Australia World Cup match happened. We were winning every game. Lost the final. Then I came and saw. What was that day? Why did we lose? We are Hindus and I go according to the day, etc. Then I saw the World Cup final was played on such a day which was also Indira Gandhi’s birth anniversary,” news agency PTI reported citing Sarma who was addressing an election rally in Hyderabad in poll-bound Telangana.

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Sarma further alleged that the opposition parties are “in cahoots” with those opposed to PM Narendra Modi.

Sarma’s advice to BCCI:

The Assam chief minister further took a dig at Gandhi family and suggested the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that it should ensure in future that a final match is not organised on a day which coincides with the birthday of a Nehru-Gandhi family member. “The World Cup final was held on Indira Gandhi’s birth anniversary and the country lost. That’s why, I want to tell the BCCI that if you have a world cup final game, make a calculation. That day should not be linked to the Gandhi family. Otherwise, there will be trouble,” he had said.

Row over Rahul’s ‘panauti’ jibe at PM Modi:

A political row broke out after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took a dig at PM Modi during a speech in poll-bound Rajasthan saying “PM means Panauti Modi”, insinuating that prime minister brings bad luck. A Hindi slang, panauti loosely refers to someone who brings bad luck.

However, the BJP denounced Gandhi’s comment as “shameful and disgraceful” and demanded an apology. The saffron party had also filed a complaint against Gandhi with the Election Commission over the remarks.

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PM Modi, along with union home minister Amit Shah, had attended the final match at the Ahmedabad stadium named after the prime minister. Australia defeated India by six wickets to bag the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup on Sunday for the sixth time. India had won 10 successive matches before losing the final match.

(With inputs from PTI)