After taking charge as the West Bengal Chief Minister in 2011, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee might not have ever faced a situation that could force her to return to her Kalighat residence in Kolkata without reaching her destination. However, all that changed on December 13, when she had to return mid-way as chaos erupted at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan (Salt Lake Stadium) during global football superstar Lionel Messi’s event.
The chaos led to a slew of measures from Mamata, some of which were unprecedented. Within an hour of the incident, the CM issued an apology and set up an inquiry committee headed by retired Calcutta High Court judge Justice Ashim Kumar Ray while the event’s organiser Shatadru Dutta was arrested.
“I am deeply disturbed and shocked by the mismanagement witnessed today at Salt Lake Stadium. I sincerely apologise to Lionel Messi, as well as to all sports lovers and his fans, for the unfortunate incident,” Mamata wrote on X on December 13.
The next 72 hours also saw the government issuing “show-cause” notices to state police chief Rajiv Kumar, Bidhannagar Police Commissioner Mukesh Kumar while departmental proceedings were initiated against DCP Aneesh Sarkar.
Days later, the CM was also forced to accept the resignation of one of her closest aides, Sports Minister Aroop Biswas, who found himself at the centre of the controversy for his photo-op with Messi.
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As pictures and videos of vandalism in the Salt Lake stadium flooded social media, Biswas on Monday offered to resign as sports minister “to ensure an impartial probe”. Asking Mamata to grant his request, he said, “Regarding the mess during Messi’s Kolkata visit, you (CM) have already constituted an investigation team. For the probe to be unbiased, I wish to resign from the post of Sports Minister.”
TMC sources said a section of the party leaders was peeved with Biswas’s moves. “Though not publicly, many questioned his role internally. Biswas bringing in Tollywood actresses, family members of politicians and even a section of media bosses came under flak not only on social media but also within the party,” a source said.
Sources said the fiasco of such a high-profile event infuriated Mamata and the public anger against the event organisers and Biswas, coupled with the ransacking of the stadium, got her worried.
TMC leaders close to the CM said she was forced to act swiftly as the discontent over the chaos spread not only among the audience, who had paid handsomely to catch a glimpse of Messi, but also among urban youth in general. “She did not want to take any chances, given that the incident happened just some months ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls,” a source said.
A senior party leader pointed towards the large number of deletions of urban youth’s names in the Election Commission (EC)’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state. “We do not want to aggravate their anger and let it snowball. Hence, immediate action was taken. Not even the DGP was spared,” the leader said.
Another senior TMC leader said Mamata did what she could in the shortest possible window. “But we saw how the youth reacted on social media, expressing their ire on the sports minister and his followers. It was a monumental embarrassment for the government and the party. The CM realised that more stringent steps were needed and took a prompt call. Also, she has ears to the ground and is aware of the sentiment that football holds among the youth,” he added.
TMC leaders also pointed out that the party had learnt its lessons from the last year’s August 8 R G Kar rape-and-murder case, which drew national attention. The government had removed then Kolkata police commissioner Vineet Goyal only on September 17 even as anger continued to simmer on the streets of the city.
Admitting that the Messi episode had “tarnished Bengal’s reputation nationally and internationally”, Diamond Harbour MP and TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said Wednesday, “While there was negligence on the part of the organisers, no one can deny the carelessness of the police and the administration… The CM apologised within an hour of the incident. No other CM has ever done this. One should also see the action taken by the state government.”
Banerjee also pointed at the stampedes at the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj and New Delhi railway station. “Did you question those who are in power? In Bengal, action has been taken against everyone – from stadium authorities to police officers,” he told reporters in Delhi.
Several people were also arrested in connection with vandalism at the stadium.
The Opposition, which has demanded the arrests of Biswas and Fire Services Minister Sujit Bose, has dubbed Mamata’s measures an “attempt to hush up the incident and divert attention”.
“This is just a drama. The sports minister wrote to the CM on a piece of paper expressing his wish to resign, and she accepted it. Why not arrest the minister? Instead, the government arrested youth. The incident has left us ashamed,” state BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya said.
Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, was prevented from entering the Salt Lake stadium to assess the situation.
CPI(M) spokesperson Shatarup Ghosh also termed Biswas’s resignation as a “drama”. “He resigned only as a sports minister but continues to hold two other portfolios… What about the other minister, Bose, who was with Messi for more than half an hour? Will he not resign and will he not be interrogated? We also demand a probe into Dutta’s bank transactions over the last six months. We have heard an influential TMC leader gave him money,” he added.