Senior Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday went on the offensive over the chaos at the Lionel Messi event in Kolkata, saying that the West Bengal government acted immediately, fixed responsibility and did not look away from lapses.
Speaking to reporters after returning from Delhi, where he attended the Winter Session of Parliament and a parliamentary party meeting, Abhishek said action had already begun and warned that anyone found guilty would face consequences.
"Action will be taken against whoever is found guilty. The government has been prompt in taking action. There may have been some lapses on the part of the administration, but the government has acted and has taken steps to rectify the situation," the TMC leader said.
Referring to the disorder at the Salt Lake stadium, the Diamond Harbour MP stressed that chief minister Mamata Banerjee took moral responsibility within minutes of the incident.
"Within one hour of the incident at the stadium, the chief minister apologised to the people. She did not shy away from responsibility," the TMC leader, who is also the nephew of Mamata Banerjee, said.
Abhishek said accountability had not remained on paper, pointing out that action had already been initiated against ministers and police officers linked to the episode.
He hit out at what he described as selective outrage, contrasting Bengal’s response with other tragedies across the country.
"Here, the chief minister apologised immediately and corrective steps were initiated. Even then, questions are being raised," he said, referring to incidents such as the Kumbh stampede and the New Delhi railway station stampede, where governments, he claimed, failed to own responsibility.
The disorder at the high-profile event triggered widespread criticism, forcing the state government to take a series of steps.
Bengal sports minister Aroop Biswas resigned, senior police officers were issued show-cause notices and an inquiry was ordered into the alleged mismanagement. On Tuesday, the chief minister accepted Biswas’s resignation.
The state government also issued show-cause notices to the director general of police and other senior officers, and suspended a deputy commissioner.
Biswas, who had come under intense pressure over the handling of the event, wrote to the CM seeking to step aside to facilitate an "impartial inquiry".
The sports minister had remained at the centre of the storm amid allegations that his presence on the pitch alongside Messi and his entourage blocked views from the galleries, triggering unrest in the stands.