The Trinamool Congress blamed the organisers and “BJP-backed” elements for the fiasco that the Salt Lake stadium witnessed on Saturday morning at the event featuring football legend Lionel Messi.
Bengal’s ruling party linked the chaos to an attempt to smear the state’s image.
The party expressed concern at some “saffron flags” which were seen on the ground during the chaotic events that unfolded earlier in the day when supporters upset at not getting a glimpse of Messi ran amok.
“The sudden unrest witnessed today raises serious concerns, particularly in light of visuals showing BJP-backed elements carrying saffron flags and raising provocative slogans, apparently attempting to create disorder and malign Bengal’s image,” the party said in a statement on its official X (formerly Twitter) handle.
Since the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Trinamool has countered every incident tied to the law and order situation in the state as an attempt to sully Bengal’s image.
The trend started with the events in North 24 Parganas’ Sandeshkhali in January 2024 when Trinamool functionaries were accused of summoning women to the party offices late at night, among other charges of land-grab and extortion.
The Trinamool statement on the Messi event mess almost coincided with the police detaining Shatadru Dutta, the main organiser of the Messi event.
The statement seemed an attempt by the ruling Trinamool to shield the government from the fallout of the event where images of the powerful state minister Aroop Biswas were seen more than of the Argentine legend.
“The unfortunate incident witnessed was the result of serious mismanagement by the private organisers of the event. The state government’s role is limited to granting statutory permission for such events,” the Trinamool said.
The party reminded that Salt Lake stadium – officially called the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan – is a Fifa-accredited venue with a long record of successfully hosting national and international events.
“The incident that unfolded at Salt Lake stadium today was deeply regrettable and must never be allowed to happen again,” the Trinamool said.
Party spokesperson and former Rajya Sabha MP Kunal Ghosh asked why action should not be taken against the organisers.
“Why should no action be taken against the organisers for this mess? Why was there no proper planning? Why did chaos break out?” asked Kunal, recalling Messi’s first visit to the city 14 years ago.
Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose said in a statement that the police could not be absolved of blame.
“Due to their inaction, this day can be said to be a dark day for the sports-loving people of Kolkata,” the governor said. “When the CM had to return midway, then it was quite a serious matter. There must be an immediate inquiry into it and the culprits must be arrested.”
Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has already announced that a three-member committee will probe the incident.
The governor said the state government should find out how and who was behind making “Messi a commodity”.
The governor said the spectators should be refunded, the organisers should be fined, and police personnel should be suspended for dereliction of duty.
A standard operating procedure for future events should be put in place, the governor said.
Rajya Sabha MP and Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya and the junior Union minister Sukanta Majumdar blamed the state government for the blot on the state’s image.
“A section of the Trinamool leaders were busy with self-publicity, depriving people who bought tickets to have a proper view of the football icon,” Bhattacharya said.
“Some fraudsters in their greed to mint money, created this situation.”
That sentiment was echoed by many fans. One irate Kolkata resident wrote on Facebook: “Prochur taka diye Yuba Bharati Kriranganey Arup Biswas ke deklhe elam. Jibon sarthok [spent a fortune to see Arup Biswas at Yuba Bharati Krirangan; life is now complete].”
The state Congress president Shubhankar Sarkar described Saturday’s events as a new age scam of the ruling Trinamool.
“Essentially, crores of rupees of the public was spent to get Messi in Kolkata for Trinamool politicians and their kin to get pictures clicked with him and post photos on social media,” Sarkar said. “In the name of Messi, tickets were sold to thousands of innocent fans across the state for exorbitant amounts. However, when Messi arrived at the Salt Lake stadium, he was surrounded by Trinamool politicians and their family members.”
Sarkar said the organisers could not be the only ones to be blamed for the terrible mismanagement and the state government had exhibited its incompetence.
“The organiser, Bidhannagar police, sports minister, local MLA and all those responsible must be held to be liable personally,” Sarkar said.