Aroop Biswas’s resignation as sports minister and administrative action against some top police officers, including DGP Rajeev Kumar and a few bureaucrats, prompted the Bengal BJP to hold chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s responsible for Saturday’s colossal chaos during football icon Lionel Messi’s visit to Salt Lake Stadium.
Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, along with over two dozen BJP MLAs, on Wednesday marched around the vandalised Salt Lake Stadium for over half an hour after being denied entry into the premises.
The BJP MLAs raised slogans demanding Mamata’s resignation.
“We had come here as MLAs to inspect the vandalised stadium built with public money. The earlier state government built it, and the government of India funded its remodelling during the Under-17 Football World Cup in 2017. That is why we came here, but we were not allowed entry. We will take appropriate action,” Adhikari said.
Adhikari added: “Multiple state government departments, including the police, sports and general administration, are involved in this failure. Therefore, a committee appointed by the state government can’t conduct an impartial probe. We have moved Calcutta High Court demanding an impartial probe.”
A source said a hearing of the case filed by the Nandigram MLA is scheduled on Thursday.
Placards carried by BJP MLAs during the protest had slogans in Bengali mainly targeting Mamata. Adhikari held aloft a placard that said “Banglar lojja Mamata (Mamata is Bengal’s shame)”. One placard alleged that Mamata’s actions had tarnished Bengal’s image globally.
Adhikari and other BJP legislators raised slogans demanding “Mamata Banerjee’s removal and arrests of ministers Aroop Biswas and Sujit Bose”.
A BJP source said that the resignation of Biswas and action against top police officers, including the DGP, established lapses on the part of the Mamata Banerjee-led government. This, the source said, made it politically easier for the BJP to hold Mamata solely responsible for the Messi mess, where thousands of ticket buyers, denied a glimpse of Messi mainly by Trinamool “VIPs”, erupted in anger and vandalised stadium property.
Before visiting Salt Lake Stadium, Adhikari and BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya held a news meet at the party’s Salt Lake office, highlighting the state government’s failure to attract industrial investments during Mamata’s 15-year tenure. They released a booklet called “West Bengal: An Industrial Graveyard”.
Bhattacharya claimed that the Messi event was a financial scam involving the entire Trinamool Congress dispensation.
“Aroop Biswas’s resignation (as sports minister) is not enough. Can a DGP (referring to Rajeev Kumar) who has been served a showcause notice function independently?” Bhattacharya, also a Rajya Sabha member, asked.
Adhikari also alleged a financial scam worth ₹300 crore through ticket sales and the sale of water, chips and other commodities at inflated prices.
“There is a money trail in this ₹300-crore scam. We want a probe by an expert agency capable of investigating money laundering involved in the Messi event and the alleged loot,” Adhikari said, directly targeting Mamata again.
The BJP also demanded immediate refund of all ticket money collected for the Messi event.
Adhikari, who has moved Calcutta High Court, said his plea would seek the quashing of FIRs against ticket-paying spectators who had later been arrested on stadium vandalism charges.
CPM veteran Biman Bose on Wednesday questioned the rationale of Biswas stepping down as sports minister while holding on to the crucial power portfolio.
“What does this mean? Removal of someone from a position of power is done to ensure that the probe is not affected. He (Aroop Biswas) stepped down (as sports minister) but is still holding on to the power department. He will continue to yield power. This (resignation) is an eyewash,” Bose said at a CPM event at Rajarhat.