W Bengal Sports Minister backs Dalmiya

KOLKATA: West Bengal Sports Minister Subhas Chakraborty on Saturday openly backed Cricket Association of Bengal President Jagmohan Dalmiya and said efforts were afoot to work out a compromise between the two rival factions ahead of the July 30 CAB elections.

Claiming that injustice was being done to Dalmiya by BCCI, which has filed an FIR against the CAB chief for alleged misappropriation of funds relating to the 1996 World Cup, Chakraborty said, "I have protested against this discrimination."

"First they said that the amount misappropriated was Rs 21 lakh. Then it went up to Rs 5.67 crore and subsequently to Rs 21 crore. Now they say it is Rs 40 crore. I won't be surprised if a few days later the sum shoots up to Rs 100 crore," Chakraborty said.

"Their inconsistent stand proves they are meting out injustice to Dalmiya. How can a responsible organisation act like this?" the minister asked.

Chakraborty's support to Dalmiya is significant in view of Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee's public statement that he was in favour of Dalmiya opting out of the CAB
presidential contest.

Chakraborty also made an oblique criticism of Bhattacharjee's stand on the issue, saying, "I have been the sports minister for 24 years. But I have never interfered in the affairs of any sports body."