Kolkata | West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose was on Saturday evening "denied" entry into the Salt Lake Stadium, hours after chaos and crowd trouble at the venue marred an event featuring football legend Lionel Messi.
Bose described the denial of entry as an affront to the constitutional position of the Governor, and sought a reply from the authorities.
“I never write a report without seeing the place… My report is half ready. I want to see for myself what happens in ground zero,” he told reporters outside the stadium, adding that he would give the authorities “one more chance to open the gate”.
“Is this the way Bengal treats its Governor? The Governor is not a rubber stamp,” Bose said, terming the episode a “ghastly irrelevance of a constitutional authority”.
Bose said he would revisit the stadium on Sunday and examine the issue in depth.
“It is not a personal affront… this is an affront to the constitutional position of the Governor... If any deliberate attempt is made by someone to hide the truth from the constitutional head of the state, they are in a fool’s paradise,” he said.
“If truth can be hidden from the Governor… maybe this is only the tip of the iceberg. I will certainly explore it to the hilt and establish the truth,” he asserted.
The Governor said the police had already begun an investigation and that his report would reflect “the point of view of the people who are affected”.
Chaos unfolded at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday, after spectators resorted to vandalism on failing to catch a glimpse of Messi, alleging gross mismanagement by the organisers and obstruction of view by VIPs.
Police arrested the event’s prime organiser, Satadru Datta, while Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced the constitution of a high-level inquiry committee to probe the incident.
Earlier in the day, Bose had dubbed the incident at the Salt Lake Stadium a “dark day for the sports-loving people of Kolkata”.
He had directed the state government to arrest the event organiser, holding them squarely responsible for the chaos, and also blamed the police for failing the government, the people and the chief minister.
According to a Lok Bhavan official, the Governor was particularly disturbed to learn that the CM, who was scheduled to meet Messi, had to turn back midway due to the disorder.
Bose had demanded an immediate inquiry, refunds for ticket-holders, compensation for damage to the stadium and public property, suspension of police officers who failed to take preventive measures, and the framing of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for such large events.
He also directed that the organiser be booked under attempt-to-murder charges and questioned how “Messi was made a commodity”.
