E-Paper
ICC polls: Mamata calls Sourav Ganguly ‘victim of shameless political vendetta’
While the BCCI has made it clear that it will back the current ICC chairman Greg Barclay to retain the post, speculations were rife that Jay Shah could be made India’s representative at the ICC board meetings
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre for ‘not nominating’ former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly to the post of the International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman.
Banerjee described it as a “shameless political vendetta to favour a particular person” in her second tirade against the BJP after Ganguly was replaced as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president earlier this month.
“We are shocked. It is a shameless political vendetta to favour a particular person. It didn’t just come as a shock for the sports lovers in our country, but is a shameless decision for the entire world,” she told media persons in Kolkata.
On Monday, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief said she would request Prime Minister Narendra Modi to allow Ganguly to contest for the ICC chairman’s post.
“I had requested many leaders in the BJP government. I had even made an open request (to the Prime Minister). Ganguly was very much entitled (for the post). Then for which unknown reasons was Sourav deprived? Was the position reserved for someone else?” she questioned.
Also Read:‘Sourav Ganguly deprived to secure…’: Mamata Banerjee attacks BJP over ICC poll
While the BCCI has made it clear that it will back the current ICC chairman Greg Barclay to retain the post, speculations were rife that Jay Shah, the BCCI secretary and son of Union home minister Amit Shah, could be made India’s representative at the ICC board meetings.
“For what selfish reasons are the country’s real sportspersons being deprived? Today if Sachin Tendulkar or Mohammad Azharuddin were there, I would have backed them too. Sourav is a gentleman and maybe that’s why he didn’t open up. We are not taking this lightly,” she added.
The BJP, which has already said that the Mamata Banerjee government should make Ganguly the brand ambassador of Bengal, rubbished the allegations.
“The TMC is desperately trying to divert the attention from all the burning issues like corruption, unemployment and paucity of funds. It has no other issues and that’s why [they are] dragging a personality like Sourav Ganguly into such politics. The TMC is actually tarnishing Ganguly’s image,” BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said.
