Kolkata: West Bengal sports minister Aroop Biswas on Thursday had questioned BCCI the reason for shifting IPL finals and qualifier 2 from Kolkata’s iconic Eden Gardens.
Addressing a press conference, Biswas said while BCCI had cited ‘weather issues’ for shifting of the matches, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president MoS Sukanta Majumdar had mentioned ‘security issue’ the reason behind changing of the venue.
“This is not just about a match, it’s about respect for Bengal and its people’s sentiment for cricket. This is a politically motivated decision. You people are taking things away from Bengal but at least games should be out of politics. Eden Gardens is the only stadium in the country which has the best sewerage system,” said Biswas.
The Bengal sports minister also questioned since when did BCCI started weather predictions?
“Three matches were cancelled due to rains in other states. Why could not the BCCI do weather predictions then,” further questioned Biswas.
Commissioner of Kolkata Police Manoj Verma who was also present in the conference said that the previous matches that were played in the Eden Gardens had not witnessed any untoward incidents.
“At least 60 to 65 thousand of people have visited the stadium to watch the matches. Not a single untoward incident was reported as the security was tightened,” mentioned Verma.
