Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Anil Desai expressed full support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tough stance on Pakistan and terrorism during his 79th Independence Day address from the Red Fort on Friday.

“It is absolutely correct because the way Pakistan has given a platform to terrorism, terror, and insurgency between India and Pakistan, it is impossible to have any compromise there until their actions stop and they come on the right path,” Desai said, aligning with the Prime Minister’s remarks on India’s “new normal” against cross-border terrorism.

Desai’s support, however, contrasts sharply with Shiv Sena MLA Aaditya Thackeray, who used the PM’s speech to criticise the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) over plans to play Pakistan in the upcoming Asia Cup T20.

“It’ll be a real shame if the BCCI thinks it’s above what the PM said from Red Fort today. After so many efforts of the Union Government and our country to tell the world that Pakistan is behind the Pahalgam attacks, the greed for money of the BCCI stands above the sacrifice of the Armed Forces, the Nation, and even the PM saying blood and water cannot flow together. With all the might that BCCI has in the ICC, it’s a joke to say we are bound by the Asia Cup Rules,” Aaditya Thackeray posted on X.

During his Independence Day address, PM Modi highlighted Operation Sindoor, the retaliatory strike against terror camps in Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack in April, which left several civilians dead after they were targeted based on religion.

“I am very proud that from the ramparts of the Red Fort, I am getting the opportunity to salute the heroes of Operation Sindoor. Our brave jawans punished the enemy beyond its imagination,” PM Modi said.