West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose was “denied” entry into the Salt Lake Stadium, after chaos and crowd trouble at the venue marred an event featuring football legend Lionel Messi. Bose described the denial of entry on Saturday evening (December 13) as an affront to the constitutional position of the governor and sought a reply from the authorities.
“I never write a report without seeing the spot… My report is half-ready. I want to see for myself what happened at Ground Zero,” he told reporters outside the stadium. “Is this the way West Bengal treats its governor? The governor is not a rubber stamp,” Bose said, terming the episode a “ghastly irrelevance of constitutional authority”.
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Bose said he would revisit the stadium on Sunday and examine the issue in depth.”It is not a personal affront… this is an affront to the constitutional position of the governor. If truth can be hidden from the governor, maybe this is only the tip of the iceberg. I will certainly explore it to the hilt and seek to establish the truth,” he asserted.
The governor said the police had already begun an investigation and that his report would reflect “the point of view of the people who are affected”.
Chaos at Salt Lake Stadium
Chaos unfolded at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday after spectators resorted to vandalism in an attempt to catch a glimpse of Messi, an Argentine footballer, alleging gross mismanagement by the organisers and obstruction of views by VIPs.
Police arrested the event’s main organiser, Satadru Datta, while Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced the constitution of a high-level inquiry committee to probe the incident.
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Bose had earlier dubbed the incident at the Salt Lake Stadium a “dark day for the sports-loving people of Kolkata”. He had directed the state government to arrest the event organiser, holding them squarely responsible for the chaos. He also blamed the police for failing the government, the people and the chief minister.
Governor seeks accountability
According to a Lok Bhavan official, the governor was particularly disturbed to learn that the CM, who was scheduled to meet Messi, had to turn back midway due to the disorder.
Bose had demanded an immediate inquiry, refunds for ticket-holders, compensation for damage to the stadium and public property, suspension of police officers who failed to take preventive measures, and the framing of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for such large events.
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He also directed that the organiser be booked under attempt to murder charges and questioned how “Messi was made a commodity”.
(With agency inputs)
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