West Bengal Sports Minister Aroop Biswas resigned over the ‘Messi tour chaos,’ but Governor CV Ananda Bose says he is yet to receive the letter. The Governor awaits action on several recommendations, while an SIT and judicial probe are underway.
Shortly after West Bengal Sports Minister Aroop Biswas resigned from his post on Tuesday amid the probe into the Messi tour chaos, Governor CV Ananda Bose said that he still hasn’t received the resignation letter of the minister for formal acceptance.
“Yesterday, this demand (of resignation) of the public was conveyed to the government, today I got the news that the Sports minister has resigned. As per the Constitution of India, resignation is to be approved by the Governor. I am waiting for the file,” Bose told ANI here.
Governor’s Recommendations and Government Action
According to the governor, the demand for the resignation of the minister was made on Monday itself, and welcomed the implementation of various recommendations on action to be taken by the government.
He further clarified that out of 14 total recommendations, only 5 have been acted upon, while he is waiting for a reply on the others.
“Those responsible for the fiasco should be held accountable; this issue was brought to the government’s attention yesterday. The first step was initiating a judicial enquiry. A retired judge has been appointed by the state government to conduct the investigation. Another recommendation was that the organisers should be arrested; the chief organiser has already been arrested, and others also have to be arrested. The third thing was that the refund the ticket amount borne by the common man, which has also been approved,” the Governor said, talking about some of the recommendations.
“There should be a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in place for congregation control, especially in large metropolitan areas like Kolkata. There should be an insurance scheme ensuring that spectators are covered, with a premium paid by the organisers. Like that, 14 recommendations have been given to the government, and action has been taken on 5-6 recommendations, and I am waiting for a response from the government on the other recommendations too,” he added.
SIT Formed, Officials Face Action
Earlier today, the West Bengal government also informed that a Special Investigation Team comprising IPS officers Piyush Pandey, Javed Shamim, Supratim Sarkar and Muralidhar has been constituted to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter.
The government has already served notice to Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar, ordering him to “clarify within 24 hours of communication on why such mismanagement and lapses happened in the stadium on the day and why proper coordination with concerned stakeholders, including the private organiser, was not carried out so as to ensure smooth conduct of the event.”
According to a statement by the Chief Secretary, Commissioner of Police Bidhannagar, Mukesh Kumar has been served a show-cause notice, to seek a reply within 24 hours about the role and conduct of the Commissionerate in the management of the event.
Departmental proceedings were initiated against Aneesh Sarkar (IPS), DCP, for his reported negligence in his duties and responsibilities on the day of the event.
Fan Frustration Boils Over
Angry fans resorted to vandalism at the Kolkata stadium, alleging poor event management and criticising VIPs and politicians for hogging the football icon’s attention and time to the extent that fans did not even get a glimpse of Messi. (ANI)
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