Amid ongoing political war-of-words over Sourav Ganguly’s exit as BCCI president and the likely appointment of Roger Binny, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has now taunted West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and said that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) should ‘remove Shah Rukh Khan and make Sourav Ganguly the brand ambassador of West Bengal’.
“Remove Shah Rukh Khan & make Sourav Ganguly the brand ambassador of West Bengal. If Mamata Banerjee wanted to extend Sourav Ganguly’s tenancy then she should’ve made him brand ambassador of WB. Don’t do politics in sports. PM Modi stays out of these things,” West Bengal LoP Suvendu Adhikari said, news agency ANI quoted.
His remarks came after West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee urged PM Narendra Modi to ensure that Sourav Ganguly is allowed to contest elections as ICC chief. Adding that outgoing BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly is ‘being deprived’, Banerjee said that his exclusion was ‘unfair’.
TMC bats for Sourav Ganguly as ICC chairman
“I request PM to make sure Sourav Ganguly must be allowed to contest ICC election. He’s a popular figure which is why he is being deprived. Request GoI not to take a decision politically, but for cricket, sports…He is not a political party member,” Mamata Banerjee said amid a political storm over Ganguly’s exit as BCCI President.
Earlier, the TMC had also slammed the BJP alleging that Home Minister Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah is allowed to continue as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary, but Sourav Ganguly’s second term as BCCI President has been stopped as the BJP ‘failed to induct him into the party’.
“Sourav Ganguly is our pride, he has skillfully managed his sports & administration career. He was BCCI president. He was excluded in an unfair way; the compensation for it will be to send him to ICC,” Banerjee said.
Meanwhile, amid reports, claims and counterclaims over Sourav Ganguly’s ‘resignation’ as BCCI President, the cricketing legend and former India captain said that it was great seeing ‘both sides of the coin’. “I was president of Cricket Association Bengal for 5 yrs & served as president of BCCI for 3 yrs. After tenure gets over,you’ve to go. You can’t play & remain an administrator forever. It was great seeing both sides of the coin as a player & administrator,” Ganguly told ANI.
