Mamata Banerjee 'shocked' over Sourav's removal as BCCI chief; BJP seeks him as brand ambassador
Kolkata, Oct 17: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday expressed shock over Sourav Ganguly's "removal" as BCCI President and sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention so that he is allowed to contest the elections for International Cricket Council head.
The BJP, however, asked her to appoint Ganguly as the state's brand ambassador replacing Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan, if she is "so concerned" with the former Indian cricket captain's faith.
Banerjee, while talking to reporters at the Kolkata airport before leaving for a trip to the northern part of the state, said she was shocked that Ganguly was "deprived" of a second term as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president.
Roger Binny, a 1983 World Cup-winning team member, will replace Ganguly as the BCCI president when the Board holds its AGM on Tuesday in Mumbai. Union Home Minister Amit Shah's son Jay Shah will continue as the BCCI Secretary for a second consecutive term.
"Sourav Ganguly is not only the pride of Bengal but also of the entire nation. He has led the cricket team and BCCI with the utmost dedication and responsibility. He has proved himself to be an able administrator, and I am shocked by his removal from the BCCI president's post," she said.
The Supreme Court had given a three-year extension to the BCCI president Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah, the Trinamool Congress supremo said.
"But for reasons unknown, Jay Shah is still continuing as the BCCI secretary while Sourav Ganguly has been removed from the position. We don't have any problem with Jay Shah continuing at the BCCI. Our grievance is why Sourav Ganguly was let go from the BCCI. We want to know on whose orders it was done. We believe that there's been an injustice done to Ganguly," she said.
Banerjee said that the only compensation for the move should be that Ganguly is allowed to contest the ICC Chairman's elections.
"There's precedence for that. Both Jagmohan Dalmiya and Sharad Pawar went on to lead ICC after the completion of their tenure at the BCCI. This is my humble request to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to allow Sourav to run for the ICC post," she said.
She urged the Centre to consider this matter in light of the future of sports in the country.
"Sourav is not affiliated with any political party. My request to the Centre is that this matter should not be treated politically or vindictively. I, once again, request the government not to act vindictively and take the decision based on the betterment of cricket and sports," Banerjee said.
Rejecting Banerjee's claim, Leader of the opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, said the CM is trying to politicise the issue and flare up Bengali sentiment around Sourav Ganguly.
"There is no politics in it, but she is trying to find one by shedding crocodile tears. If she is so concerned about Sourav Ganguly, why didn't she appoint him as the brand ambassador (of West Bengal) instead of Shah Rukh Khan? She should immediately appoint him as the brand ambassador," Adhikari told a press conference here.
Khan was appointed as the brand ambassador of West Bengal in 2012, a year after the TMC came to power in the state.
BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya wondered whether Binny had contributed less to Indian cricket.
"Sourav Ganguly is an icon. Roger Binny, too, is a member of the (1983) World Cup-winning side. Is he less eligible for that post? BCCI is an autonomous body, unlike sports bodies in West Bengal, which the TMC leaders are helming," he said
Reacting to this, the TMC said that the issue of the brand ambassador should not be mixed up with Ganguly's "unceremonious exit" from the BCCI.
"The way Sourav Ganguly has been humiliated is unacceptable. We condemn it. As the BJP could not induct him into the party, he was removed most unceremoniously. This has nothing to do with the issue of the brand ambassador," TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said.
The TMC earlier claimed that it is an example of political vendetta' that Amit Shah's son Jay Shah can continue as the BCCI Secretary for a second term but Ganguly can't do so as its president.
Ganguly, at one time, was rumoured to be the man BJP wanted to rope in for a leadership role in the party's West Bengal unit, as it was looking for a face to counter Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's charisma.
However, the master cricketer has steered away from politics, confining himself to cricket administration till now.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Mamata’s decision not to quit part of her protest against Centre, EC: Raut
Mumbai (PTI): Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday backed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s decision not to quit after her defeat in the assembly polls, calling it a part of her protest against the Centre and the Election Commission of India.
Talking to reporters, Raut asserted that it is necessary to unite against the “dictatorship of the Centre and partisan behaviour of the Election Commission”. He said the poll body has become “slaves” of the Centre.
The Opposition has to decide whether it has to contest the polls or not, he said.
“Mamata Banerjee is not resigning is part of her agitation against the government (Centre), the Election Commission (EC) and a series of acts against democracy,” Raut said.
It has to be seen what direction the agitation takes, he added.
Alleging that the West Bengal assembly poll verdict was “not a people's mandate but a conspiracy”, Banerjee on Tuesday refused to resign as chief minister.
The BJP sealed a landslide victory with 207 seats in the 294-member assembly, ending the TMC’s uninterrupted 15-year rule. Banerjee dismissed the outcome as “engineered” and asserted that her party was fighting the Election Commission, not the BJP. The TMC could only manage 80 seats.
In a post on Facebook, Raut said Banerjee’s decision not to quit is fully justified. He also sought to draw a parallel with the 2022 Maharashtra political crisis.
The then Chief Justice of India had observed during hearings on petitions seeking the disqualification of rebel MLAs of the undivided Shiv Sena that Uddhav Thackeray, who headed the party at the time, could have been reinstated as chief minister had he not resigned, Raut said.
The Rajya Sabha MP said Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray had called up Banerjee after the polls and extended support. Almost all INDIA bloc leaders have called Banerjee and extended their support to her.
“We have to come together if we have to unite against the dictatorship of the Centre and the partisan behaviour of the EC or the way the poll body has become slaves of the government,” Raut said.
He claimed that even many in the government do not agree with the “degradation of democracy”.
