Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has demanded that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) should reconsider its decision to allow Vivo, a Chinese company, to sponsor the Indian Premier League (IPL), Hindustan Times reported.
Ashwani Mahajan, the national co-convenor of SJM, said in a statement that the BCCI's decision went against the 'mood of the nation'.
"The call for boycott of Chinese goods is no longer just a demand from the SJM, it is a call being supported by ordinary citizens in the wake of what transpired between India and China," Mahajan said, referring to the standoff between Indian and Chinese forces along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Mahajan said the board should be sensitive towards the nation and its security concerns. "The whole world is boycotting China, IPL is sheltering them. They should understand that nothing is above the nation, not even cricket," Mahajan said, adding that people should consider boycotting the cricket league.
The IPL Governing Council decided on August 2 not to cut off its links with Chinese companies, which are the tournament's major sponsors. Vivo, a Chinese mobile phone manufacturer, is the title sponsor of the T-20 cricket league.
VIVO has paid over Rs 2,000 crore to BCCI, the owners of the IPL, for a five-year deal.
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