Kolkata: West Bengal Sports Minister Subhas Chakraborty has upped the ante in the ongoing Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) election campaign by calling Sourav Ganguly an "opportunist", bringing to fore the fissures within the ranks of the Left Front over the issue.
"Sourav Ganguly no longer needs Jagmohan Dalmiya. He has got someone else to go ahead and so he has passed these comments against him," Chakraborty said on Sunday night.
Asked if Ganguly would be termed a traitor, he said: "No, not a traitor. But certainly an opportunist. In order to fulfil own dreams and ambitions, some people just don't give much importance to ethics. These people just take the chances as they present themselves. These people can use a trusted as a ladder to return to light from darkness. You can call it something like this."
"Early in his career when he was only 13, I had taken the personal initiative to send Sourav to play in county cricket in England. This was not once but twice. But has he ever talked about it? Forget talking about it he never bothered to thank me with a call on his return."
However, in an interview to a city daily from London, when asked about it, Sourav said: "Yes, its true (Subhas's role in his early career)."
Asked about the CAB elections and his failure to bring in an understanding, he said: "Yes, the Chief Minister had given me a task, but I had failed."
Meanwhile, PWD Minister and Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) leader Kshiti Goswami also voiced his displeasure against Sourav.
"The email from Sourav has no purpose and the timing is just not right. Its because of Dalmiya that Chandi Ganguly's son has become Sourav Ganguly and the man is responsible for bringing some of the biggest cricket spectacles to Kolkata. But most importantly he has turned both BCCI and CAB from two cash stripped ailing bodies into cash cows," he said.
"CAB is an independent autonomous organisation and it will be best if it were to be left in that manner. We would not like any interference from any quarters."
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, who is on a sticky wicket now after the tables were turned against Sourav, is keeping silent.
City police commissioner Prasun Mukherjee, backed by the Chief Minister, is challenging Dalmiya for the post of president in the July 30 CAB elections.
Comments
0 comment