BJP MP and former cricketer Gautam Gambhir on Friday said Pakistani cricketer Danish Kaneria's comment that he was mistreated by a few teammates for being a Hindu showed the "real face of Pakistan".
"We had captains like Mohammad Azharuddin leading India for such a long time... This is happening in a country led by Imran Khan who himself was a cricketer," Mr Gambhir said, news agency Press Trust of India reported.
The former India opener said Mr Kaneria has played Test cricket for his country. "This is really shameful" if despite that he's being made to face such "torture", Mr Gambhir said.
"India gave so much respect to Mohammad Kaif, Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel. In fact, Patel is my close friend. We always played as a team to make our country proud. But the reports coming in from Pakistan are really unfortunate," Mr Gambhir said. "This shows the real face of Pakistan," he added.
The cricketer-turned-politician said if a sportsperson could face such treatment, "one can only imagine what Hindus, Sikhs and other minorities have to go through (in Pakistan)".
Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar had Mr Kaneria faced discrimination in the hands of a few Pakistani cricketers, who were reluctant to even eat with him because he is a Hindu. Mr Kaneria supported Mr Akhtar's claim.
Mr Kaneria, the only Hindu to play for Pakistan after his maternal uncle Anil Dalpat, took 261 wickets in 61 Tests at an average of 34.79. He also played 18 ODIs.
On the protests against the amended citizenship law, Mr Gambhir said people were being misled and the legislation was not "anti-Muslim or anti-Indian". "I would request people... whatever you want to do, please do it peacefully. The government will resolve your issues. Nothing will come out of violence, throwing stones on police and damaging public property," he said.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act for the first time makes religion the test of citizenship in India. The government says it will help minorities from three Muslim-dominated countries to get citizenship if they fled to India because of religious persecution. Critics say it is designed to discriminate against Muslims and violates the secular principles of the constitution.
With inputs from PTI
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