Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday fixed accountability on people who displayed “adikhhyeta (exaggerated and unnecessary exuberance)" during Lionel Messi's Calcutta leg of the GOAT India tour, organisers and sections of the police and administration for shattering the "excitement and enthusiasm" of spectators at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday.

“The excitement and enthusiasm with which the spectators and (Messi) fans had arrived at Salt Lake Stadium were shattered because of the behaviour and 'adikhhyeta’ of a section, and those people will be answerable. Besides the role of organisers, there is no reason to deny the failure due to laxity on the part of a section of the police and the administration,” said Abhishek, the Trinamool national general secretary and MP, at Calcutta airport on Wednesday evening.

“The state government has been taking action against everyone against whom there is public anger — whether they are representatives of the police administration, the CEO of Yuva Bharati, or others. An investigation is ongoing, and based on its findings, I am sure the state government will take action against all those involved,” added Abhishek.

Before Abhishek, Trinamool leaders like Kunal Ghosh had accused "hyangla (greedy) people for the public anger.

Abhishek admitted that anger was natural for spectators who saved money for months, or refrained from buying clothes during Durga Puja, just to purchase a ticket to get a glimpse of Messi.

A Trinamool Congress source said Abhishek’s comments made it clear that the actions of those who surrounded Messi and prevented fans from getting a glimpse of their icon — including minister Aroop Biswas — were not accepted by the top leadership.

“Abhishek’s statement has made it clear that the action already initiated will not stop with Biswas’s resignation or the show-cause notice issued to DGP Rajeev Kumar,” said a senior Trinamool leader.

However, Abhishek urged people not to politicise the issue further.

He said Mamata Banerjee was the only chief minister who sought an apology within an hour of the incident while leaders or administrative heads in BJP-ruled states had never shown such generosity even after dozens of incidents involving loss of human lives.

“Within one hour of the incident, chief minister Mamata Banerjee apologised and issued a post on her social media handle. Perhaps no other chief minister in India has shown this level of courtesy.... Action has been taken against top police officers, and the resignation of the sports minister has been accepted,” said Mamata’s nephew.

Abhishek said people should take note of how the government responds after any undesirable incident. “We must take a lesson from this incident and ensure that there is no repetition,” he added.

Mamata, who appeared publicly on Wednesday for the first time after the fiasco at Netaji Indoor Stadium, however, did not utter a single word on the Messi mess.

Dig at BJP over SIR

Abhishek said the publication of the draft electoral roll had gone against the narrative pushed by the BJP and others who portrayed Bengal as a hub of infiltrators, and said the saffron camp should apologise.

“Those who maligned Bengal by calling it a hub of infiltrators and claimed the presence of 1 to 1.5 crore Rohingyas have effectively had their claims rejected by the Election Commission itself,” Abhishek said.

Mamata Banerjee will conduct a mega meeting with booth-level agents from 39 Assembly segments of Calcutta and adjoining districts at Netaji Indoor Stadium on December 22 to fix their responsibilities during the second round of SIR, which will culminate in the publication of the final electoral roll on February 14. Abhishek is likely to be present at the meeting.