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Buddhadeb seeks to underplay comments
Showing his disappointment over the recent CAB elections, the Chief Minister said he felt sorry for the fact that sports is now infected by politics.
Under pressure from his own party men, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Tuesday sought to underplay his outburst against Jagmohan Dalmiya, saying he had other things to think about, even as three of his ministers berated him for his scathing remarks.
"Again this same question? I don't like it. There are many other things in heaven and earth (to think about)," he dismissively told reporters at the state secretariat.
He had yesterday dubbed Dalmiya's victory over Kolkata Police Commissioner Prasun Mukherjee, backed by him in the CAB election on July 30, as a "triumph of evil over good".
Bhattacharjee had said he would never compromise with Dalmiya and that he should leave CAB.
Taking on the Chief Minister, Sports Minister Subhas Chakraborty said there was no reason for the CAB President to leave the organisation.
"He is the democratically-elected president of CAB. Why should he leave?" Chakraborty, who had openly supported Dalmiya in the run up to the CAB elections, said.
Asked whether he would provide help to the CAB inspite of the chief minister's remarks, Chakraborty said, "As the Sports minister, I will have to give CAB whatever help it wants."
CPI minister in the Left Front government, Nandagopal Bhattacharya also criticised the chief minister saying "How can it be that if you are elected it is a victory of democracy and if I win it is not so."
"We will raise the issue at the Left Front meeting and seek an explanation whether it is proper to mix politics with sports."
Bhattacharya said his party had been always against politics in sports. "This is an unfortunate development. Ultimately politics has been injected in sports."
"The cabinet had not taken any decision on the CAB and what is being said is entirely a personal opinion," he said.
The Left Front, he said, had decided that there would be no politics in sports. "That was the decision."
The minister was also against fielding of the Kolkata Police Commissioner. "It was indecent to field a top police official for the CAB President's post."
RSP Minister Kshiti Goswami said the state government had no stand on the CAB election. "There should be no political interference in sports, but that has been done."
