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Kolkata Diary
Cricket Crises
by
Dr. Prasenjit Maiti
This week Kolkata in
particular and the cricketing world of West Bengal and India in general went
gaga about the Cricket Association of Bengal’s Annual General Election that
was widely speculated to bring about a change of guard. But such eventuality
ultimately took place. Jagmohan Dalmiya, former International Cricket
Council and Board for Control of Cricket in India President, returned to
power as the President of CAB, and with him returned his entire panel of
mandarins.
The extensive public interest that was generated during the run up to this
election and the incredible brouhaha that followed its election had to be
seen to be believed. Chief Minister of West Bengal, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee,
took a firm stand against Dalmiya, and pitted his own candidate, Prasun
Mukhopadhyay [who happens to be the Police Commissioner of Kolkata!],
against Dalmiya. Next followed a battle of attrition as well as wits to win
over candidates by exercising either fear of favor.
It was repeatedly reported in the print and electronic media that the police
authorities were using political influence to cajole the voters from the
districts and the government organizations as well as autonomous
institutions like Universities to cast their voters in favor of the Police
Commissioner. There are about 121 voters from registered clubs, associations
/ bodies, educational institutions and district sports associations who are
eligible to vote in the CAB Election. So the electoral fray is extremely
limited and almost everybody knows everybody else. Word of mouth plays an
important role in such electoral dynamics. The politics of patron-client
relationships is another critical factor.
Ultimately there was a photo finish where Dalmiya nosed ahead marginally
with a slender margin of 3 votes that could have tilted either way if Laloo
Prasad Yadav, Union Railways Minister, had not stepped in with his political
influence [according to media reports]. The fight went all the way to the
fence, but it must be admitted in this connection that both the high profile
contestants played according to the rules of the game and maintained dignity
and poise all throughout this latest democratic drama that had unfurled
itself over the last month or so [immediately after conclusion of the World
Cup Football Tournament] at Kolkata.
Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, otherwise known for his sagacious
approach to politics and everyday issues, visibly lost his cool when he
addressed the media on 31 July 2006 from the podium at Writers’ Buildings.
He lashed out against Dalmiya in an almost unprecedented manner, and
described Dalmiya’s victory as the triumph of evil forces over ethical
forces. Bhattacharjee next ordered Dalmiya to leave CAB and withdraw all his
activities from the world of cricket administration. The Chief Minister
repeatedly stressed upon the fact that his war against Dalmiya would
continue till the CAB President is forced to step down from his present
position of power. Bhattacharjee’s tirade against Dalmiya is notionally
based on certain vague arguments that Dalmiya works against the best
interests of Bengal Cricket, and that Eden Gardens of Kolkata has
degenerated during his long stint at the CAB.
Jyoti Basu, veteran CPI (M)
leader and ex-Chief Minister of West Bengal, next issued a statement against
Bhattacharjee, and said that democratic norms and practices should be
respected by all who believe in the system. Sports Minister Subhash
Chakraborty, a Basu follower, was deputed by Bhattacharjee earlier to cajole
Dalmiya not to contest in this election at all. But Chakraborty’s public
statements indicated that his sympathies were with Dalmiya.
Another important Left Front Minister who did not support Bhattacharjee in
this issue is Kshiti Goswami, who said political intervention in sports
administration was not a healthy development. The most hapless political
figure in this imbroglio was perhaps Biman Bose, the Chairman of Left Front,
who kept on saying that the CPI (M) was not involved in this election. But
nobody took him seriously, of course!
This matter has taken such a serious turn that the CPI (M)’s Central
Committee may soon deliberate upon it by demanding explanations from both
Bhattacharjee as well as Basu for their public statements. It is widely
rumored in the media that the reason behind the political implications of
this just concluded election was Dalmiya’s controversial role during the
construction of the Bantala Leather Complex. His company was contracted by
the Government of West Bengal [then led by Jyoti Basu] to construct this
complex but the state government apparently incurred considerable losses due
to inefficient implementation of this important project that sought to
relocate the polluting tanneries from East Kolkata to Bantala.
The interesting point is that there was no demurrage clause inserted in the
contract, and so Dalmiya went scot-free even though his company’s
performance was in serious question. Chief Minister Bhattacharjee might have
referred to this incident when he added during his explosive statement
against Dalmiya that his government believed in transparency and did not
support any unholy nexus. And all this happened on the historic day when the
agreement was signed between the West Bengal Industrial Development
Corporation and the Salim Group of Indonesia to set up infrastructure
projects of an incredible proportion in the state. This agreement has
already caused serious public dissent over the critical issue of acquisition
of fertile agricultural land for industrial / commercial purpose [as
discussed earlier in this column].
The state government has decided to go public with this agreement.
Bhattacharjee and his Industry Minister Nirupam Sen’s earlier decision to
give free holding rights to land to the new entrepreneurs may be revised ie
private parties cannot sell off this land taken for an industrial purpose,
and should implement projects within stipulated deadlines. This policy was
even practised by the colonial British rulers when they gave land in the
heart of Kolkata to missionary organizations to build their Churches and run
schools. The same policy was also followed in the case of the jute mills
[most of which have closed down during the present regime] along River
Hooghly. Another factor that fueled the CAB election controversy was former
India Captain Sourav Ganguly’s e-mail against Dalmiya. But the latter
ignored the former by saying Sourav was a kid and should be repatriated to
the Indian Cricket Team! So high drama, suspense and bathos, all accompanied
this latest democratic charade of Kolkata …
August 13, 2006
Top |
Kolkata Diary
The Week of August 13, 2006
Can Corrupt Politicians Preserve Freedom? by
Rajinder Puri
Dreams on Independence Day by Ramesh Menon
India's Vision of Peace with Pakistan is a
Mirage by Dr. Subhash Kapila
Sri Lanka : Back to the Future by Col. Rahul
K. Bhonsle
India Divided by J. Ajithkumar
Political Promotion of Global Islamic Terrorism
by V. Sundaram
Friendship and Culture for World Unity by
TA Ramesh
Communicating with Kids by Garima Gupta
How Long does it take to Rebuild Trust? by
Gary Direnfeld
Geo Hazards: Are we Prepared? by VK Joshi
Lore of the Bean by Dr. V. Sankaran Nair
Cricket Crises by Dr. Prasenjit Maiti
My Multicultural Neighbors by Dhiraj Raniga
A Veritable Cornucopia by Pradip
Bhattacharya
The Story's the Thing by Pradip
Bhattacharya
Bheel Mahabharata: The Rape of Draupadi by
Satya Chaitanya
Oneness in Hinduism by Dr. Madan Lal Goel
What is an Avatar? by C.R. Gopalakrishna
Asomiya: Handpicked Fictions a
Review by Jennifer M. Bayer
India: The Narrow Minded by Kusum Choppra
The Real Bihar by Naghma Masroor
Cleopatra A Story by Dibyendu Ghosal
Introduction to HTTP Cookies by Ruchi Gupta
London: The Most Expensive City in Europe by
Rajesh Talwar
Freedom at Dawn by Prakash Pathre
Heritage Cuisine - Misal by Vikram Karve
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