The pandemonium at Kolkata’s Salt Lake stadium during football superstar Lionel Messi’s visit claimed its first political casualty on Tuesday with the resignation of Aroop Biswas as West Bengal’s Sports Minister.
He will, however, continue to hold the portfolio of the Power and Housing Departments.
Biswas offered his resignation as Sports Minister, citing the need for an “unbiased investigation” into Saturday’s incident as the ruling TMC was facing heat over the mismanagement.
His resignation was quickly accepted by Chief Mamata Banerjee, who, in a statement, replied, “ I appreciate the sentiment and intention of the Sports Minister to offer a relief from the Sports Department for the sake of impartial inquiry… I think he is very much correct, and until and unless the impartial inquiry is over, the Sports Department will be looked after by me for the time being.”
In his resignation letter to the chief minister, dated Monday, the TMC MLA from Tollygunj wrote, “Regarding the mess created during Messi’s Kolkata trip, you have already constituted an investigation team. For an unbiased investigation, I want to resign from the Sports Minister post.”
Biswas was referring to the government forming a three-member probe panel under retired Calcutta High Court judge Justice Ashim Kumar Roy.
Sources in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said she was “very angry” over the incident that unfolded during Messi’s visit to Salt Lake Stadium. Miffed by the superstar’s fleeting appearance and the presence of VIPs, the fans, who had paid for expensive tickets, went into a rampage at the stadium. Messi had to be escorted safely within minutes
On Monday, during a meeting on preparations for the Gangasagar Mela, Mamata Banerjee had reportedly expressed her displeasure in front of Cabinet colleagues and department secretaries. She had also advised ministers and officials to remain alert about VVIP movement during high-profile programmes.
Highly placed sources in the government said that soon after the meeting, Biswas wrote to the chief minister, offering his resignation.
Reacting to the minister’s resignation, Governor CV Ananda Bose, in a statement, said, “On Monday, I had demanded the resignation of the Sports Minister and action against all those in the government who have vicarious liability for the untoward incident… What was meant to be a historic tryst of Kolkata with one of the all-time greatest footballers of the world turned chaotic as VVIPs hogged access to Lionel Messi, including State Ministers Aroop Biswas and Sujit Bose, and several other ‘VIPs’.”
“The Lok Bhavan has also received several demands from irate fans who wanted the Sports Minister to resign. Those in Government who were visibly at the helm of the state of affairs – including the Sports Minister – must own up responsibility,” the statement read.
Later in the evening, when Governor Bose reached Delhi, he refused to comment on whether Biswas should resign from the two other departments he is in charge of.
Asked whether Biswas should resign from all ministerial posts to ensure an impartial probe, Bose said: “I am waiting for the files to reach me. Then only I can comment on this.”
The Opposition BJP called Biswas’ resignation as the sports minister “nothing but a rear-guard action” to douse public anger.
BJP co-in-charge for West Bengal Amit Malviya in a post on X, wrote, “TMC Sports Minister Aroop Biswas resigns after the Messi fiasco, and Mamata Banerjee accepts it in record time. Do not mistake this for accountability; this is nothing but a rear-guard action to douse public anger. anger! This is not ‘Raj Dharma’.”
The incident was also the outcome of the “shameless VIP culture that TMC thrives on and deep-rooted cronyism promoted by Banerjee”, he charged.
The BJP had earlier demanded the arrest of two ministers – Aroop Biswas and Sujit Bose.
Following the incident, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had publicly apologised to the fans, as well as Messi.
The chief organiser of Messi’s tour, Shatadru Dutta, was arrested on Saturday. A district court on Sunday remanded him to police custody for two weeks.