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Following the chaos that erupted at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata during the GOAT India tour of Football Icon Lionel Messi, West Bengal Leader of Opposition and BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari wrote to the State's Governor CV Ananda Bose requesting him for an independent judicial enquiry into the incident headed by a sitting Judge of the Calcutta High Court, assisted by persons of unimpeachable integrity.
In a letter to the Governor, Suvendu Adhikari wrote, "truly independent enquiry committee, headed by a sitting Judge of the Calcutta High Court, assisted by persons of unimpeachable integrity who have no institutional, administrative, or political affiliation with the State Government." His letter further said, "Only such an enquiry can restore faith in governance, reaffirm the supremacy of the Constitution, and assure the people of West Bengal that power, however entrenched, remains answerable to law." This is not a partisan grievance. It is a constitutional moment. The issue transcends football, politics, and personalities. It concerns the right of citizens to be treated with dignity, the obligation of the State to act as trustee of public interest, and the duty of constitutional authorities to intervene when the executive becomes a law unto itself. History will judge not merely the perpetrators of this indignity, but also the silence that followed or the courage that intervened." Suvendu Adhikari alleged that the incident was not accidental. It was enabled, if not orchestrated, by the Sports Department, the Police authorities entrusted with public safety, and the Minister-in-Charge of Sports & Youth Affairs, whose constitutional and statutory duty was to protect the interests of the public, not to preside over their exploitation. "Their conduct reflects a chilling indifference to public accountability and a disturbing normalisation of entitlement," he said. Governor CV Ananda Bose on Saturday slammed the organisers for "callously commercialising" the GOAT India tour of Lionel Messi and completely "ignoring" the sentiments of fans after chaos erupted at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata during the event. "The organisers have callously gone the way of commercialisation of Messi's visit here and ignored the sentiments of the fans. After all it is fans who make an icon an icon. Fans have the right to see their hero. Knowing all these things the organisers only focused on money-making, which a civilised society cannot endure," CV Ananda Bose said. Governor CV Ananda Bose urged people not to blame the fans for their reaction after authorities failed to meet expectations. "The fan mentality should be understood properly. We cannot blame them. They came with great expectations to see their hero. The concerned authorities did not take care of these instances, which is where the failure lies. The organisers are all those associated with the event," he said. Messi's Kolkata leg of the GOAT Tour descended into chaos on Saturday as fans who paid high ticket prices at Salt Lake Stadium's event began throwing bottles and attempting to break the gates between the stands after the Argentine legend left early. 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. The situation escalated when angry fans attempted to enter the ground to vandalise the tent and the goal post. To control the situation, police personnel used mild force to disperse the angry crowd from the ground. West Bengal police has arrested the organiser of Lionel Messi's GOAT Tour event for mismanagement of the event. (ANI)
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