Mamata says 'not easy to stop Ganguly from becoming ICC President'
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee once again threw her weight behind Sourav Ganguly, saying the former India captain should have been the International Cricket Council president by now and warned, in her trademark style that "it's not that easy to stop him."
Speaking at the felicitation ceremony of World Cup winner Richa Ghosh at Eden Gardens on Saturday, the Chief Minister lauded both Ganguly and the young cricketer, before veering into a familiar subject that has long stirred controversy.
"We always wanted Ganguly to remain India's captain for a long time," Mamata said.
"There’s one more thing I must say -- Ganguly might feel bad if I say this, but I'm a little outspoken and always speak the unpleasant truth; I've never been able to change that.
"Who was supposed to be the ICC president today? None other than Sourav Ganguly. He may not have become one now, but I strongly believe that one day he definitely will. It's not that easy to stop him."
The ICC chair post is currently held by Jay Shah, son of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who became the youngest-ever ICC chairman in December 2024, following a four-year tenure as BCCI secretary.
Shah's elevation to the global post came two years after Ganguly was replaced as BCCI president by Roger Binny in October 2022, ending his three-year stint at the helm of Indian cricket's governing body.
Ganguly and Shah had worked together in the BCCI from October 2019 to September 2022, during which the former skipper's administrative term was widely viewed as steady but politically fraught.
While reports then suggested power dynamics within the Board and the government's influence may have played a role in Ganguly's exit, both Ganguly and Shah have publicly maintained cordial relations.
Incidentally in October 2022, soon after Ganguly's removal from the BCCI presidency, Mamata had come out in strong support of him, urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to allow the former India captain to contest elections for the ICC post.
At the time, the Trinamool Congress supremo had pointedly asked why "Amit Babu's (Amit Shah's) son has been retained in the BCCI' while Ganguly had been denied a second term.
One of India's most iconic cricket captains, Ganguly took charge of the national team in 2000 in the aftermath of the match-fixing scandal and led India to a new era of competitiveness and self-belief.
He captained India in 49 Tests, winning 21, and in 147 ODIs, guiding the team to 76 victories.
After his retirement in 2008, Ganguly transitioned smoothly into cricket administration. In 2015, he became president of the Cricket Association of Bengal, and four years later, on October 23, 2019, he officially took over as president of the BCCI.
Having stepped away from national administration, Ganguly returned to the CAB presidency in September this year, marking a comeback to his home turf after six years.
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Odisha: Normalcy returns to violence-hit Malkangiri; internet services fully restored
Malkangiri (PTI): Normalcy returned to Odisha’s Malkangiri district on Monday, nearly a week after around 200 villages were damaged in violent clashes in a village, with the district administration fully restoring internet services, a senior official said.
Additional District Magistrate Bedabar Pradhan said internet services, suspended across the district on December 8 to curb the spread of rumours and misinformation following the clashes, were restored after the situation improved.
The suspension had been extended in phases till 12 noon on Monday.
The administration also withdrew prohibitory orders imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita within a 10-km radius of MV-26 village, where arson incidents were reported on December 7 and December 8.
Though the violence was confined to two villages, tension had gripped the entire district, as the incident took the form of a clash between local tribals and Bengali settlers following the recovery of a headless body of a woman on December 4, officials said.
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The violence broke out after residents of Rakhelguda village allegedly set ablaze several houses belonging to Bengali residents, forcing hundreds to flee. The headless body of Lake Podiami (51), a woman from the Koya tribe, was recovered from the banks of the Poteru river on December 4, while her head was found six days later at a location about 15 km away.
Officials said the district administration held several rounds of discussions with representatives of the tribal and Bengali communities, following which both sides agreed to maintain peace.
Relief and rehabilitation work has since been launched at MV-26 village, with preliminary assessment pegging property damage at around Rs 3.8 crore.
A two-member ministerial team headed by Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo visited the affected village, interacted with officials and locals, and submitted a report to the chief minister.
So far, 18 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, the officials said, adding that despite the withdrawal of prohibitory orders and restoration of internet services, security forces, including BSF and CRPF personnel, continue to be deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
On Sunday, Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi visited MV-26 and neighbouring Rakhelguda villages, and held discussions with members of both communities as part of efforts to rebuild confidence and restore peace.
More than two lakh Bengali-speaking Bangladeshis were rehabilitated by the Centre in Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts in 1968, and they currently reside in 124 villages of Malkangiri.
