Bengaluru FC look to seal AFC Cup berth
Bengaluru: Boosted by three away goals, Bengaluru FC will look to seal qualification in the group stages of the AFC Cup when they take on Maldivian side TC Sports Club at the Kanteerava Stadium here on Tuesday.
A Thongkhosiem Haokip brace and Erik Paartalu's fourth goal since signing for Bengaluru gave the Albert Roca-coached southern outfit a 3-2 win in Male last week after they allowed TC to come back from two goals down to level things in what was a strange second half.
The visitors need to win by either a two-goal margin or win scoring more than three goals if they are to edge Bengaluru out and Roca, while sounding confident, warned his side against complacency.
"This tie is far from over. Yes, we've scored three away goals but we've also conceded two and I don't see why they won't take the game to us on Tuesday. That said, we are always confident of our abilities and more so at home. We need to focus and get the job done," said Roca.
Bengaluru seemed to be cruising with two quick second-half goals at the National Stadium when lapses in defence saw the hosts hit back through Anatolii Vlasichev and Ibrahim Mahudhee.
But a Haokip screamer in the 78th minute took out the fight from TC in what were difficult conditions.
"We had a tough time coping with the weather and pitch conditions in Maldives. Thankfully we have the chance to get the job done at home and we need to make the most of the familiar conditions," he said.
The win came at the cost of an injury to defender Harmanjot Khabra who had to be substituted after he picked up a hit to his chest. Khabra missed out on the ISL fixture against FC Pune City and won't be available for selection on Tuesday as he continues to recover.
Roca chose to rest names like Sunil Chhetri, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Juanan Gonzalez, Dimas Delgado and Lenny Rodrigues and whether the Spaniard hands them a role in the fixture at home, remains to be seen.
"I am happy with the way the youngsters on the team have responded to responsibility and they surely need more game time. I will leave the decision late on whether or not I include players who didn't travel to the Maldives, in the squad for Tuesday," said Roca.
Group E, as it stands, has three slots filled with Abahani (Bangladesh), Aizawl FC and New Radiant (Maldives) booking their place in the continental competition.
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Trouble ‘Miyas’ everywhere only then they will leave Assam: Himanta Biswa Sarma
Says “Himanta Biswa Sarma, BJP are openly against them, we are saying it openly
New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that four to five lakh “Miya voters” would be removed from the electoral rolls in the state once the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists is carried out. He also made a series of controversial remarks openly targeting the Miya community, a term commonly used in Assam in a derogatory sense to refer to Bengali-speaking Muslims.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an official programme in Digboi in Tinsukia district, Sarma said it was his responsibility to create difficulties for the Miya community and claimed that both he and the BJP were “directly against Miyas”.
“Four to five lakh Miya votes will have to be deleted in Assam when the SIR happens,” Sarma said, adding that such voters “should ideally not be allowed to vote in Assam, but in Bangladesh”. He asserted that the government was ensuring that they would not be able to vote in the state.
The chief minister was responding to questions about notices issued to thousands of Bengali-speaking Muslims during the claims and objections phase of the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls in Assam. While the Election Commission is conducting SIR exercises in 12 states and Union Territories, Assam is currently undergoing an SR, which is usually meant for routine updates.
Calling the current SR “preliminary”, Sarma said that a full-fledged SIR in Assam would lead to large-scale deletion of Miya voters. He said he was unconcerned about criticism from opposition parties over the issue.
“Let the Congress abuse me as much as they want. My job is to make the Miya people suffer,” Sarma said. He claimed that complaints filed against members of the community were done on his instructions and that he had encouraged BJP workers to keep filing complaints.
“I have told people wherever possible they should fill Form 7 so that they have to run around a little and are troubled,” he said, adding that such actions were meant to send a message that “the Assamese people are still living”.
In remarks that drew further outrage, Sarma urged people to trouble members of the Miya community in everyday life, claiming that “only if they face troubles will they leave Assam”. He also accused the media of sympathising with the community and warned journalists against such coverage.
“So you all should also trouble, and you should not do news that sympathise with them. There will be love jihad in your own house.” He said.
The comments triggered reactions from opposition leaders. Raijor Dal president and MLA Akhil Gogoi said the people of Assam had not elected Sarma to keep one community under constant pressure. Congress leader Aman Wadud accused the chief minister of rendering the Constitution meaningless in the state, saying his remarks showed a complete disregard for constitutional values.
According to the draft electoral rolls published on December 27, Assam currently has 2.51 crore voters. Election officials said 4.78 lakh names were marked as deceased, 5.23 lakh as having shifted, and 53,619 duplicate entries were removed during the revision process. Authorities also claimed that verification had been completed for over 61 lakh households.
On January 25, six opposition parties the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad, CPI, CPI(M) and CPI(M-L) submitted a memorandum to the state’s chief electoral officer. They alleged widespread legal violations, political interference and selective targeting of genuine voters during the SR exercise, describing it as arbitrary, unlawful and unconstitutional.
