Aroop Biswas quits as West Bengal sport minister

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday accepted Aroop Biswas's resignation as the sports minister in the wake of the controversy over the mismanagement of football icon Lionel Messi's event recently, a senior leader of the ruling TMC said. Biswas, who had written to the chief minister seeking to be relieved of his responsibilities as sports minister, will continue as a cabinet minister, retaining charge of the power department. In a handwritten letter to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Biswas, who has faced much of the criticism for the chaos, said he was stepping down to ensure a "free and fair investigation" into the incident.

Messi's tour of India started on a chaotic note on Saturday after irate spectators, who shelled as much as Rs 15,000, ran riot and vandalised the Salt Lake stadium as the Argentinian football star left within 20 minutes. The spectators have alleged that Messi was always surrounded by a group of influential individuals and politicians like Biswas, preventing ticket-paying fans from getting a glimpse of their star. Frustrated by their inability to see the football icon, spectators threw bottles onto the ground and ripped up stadium seats. Satadru Dutta, the event's chief organiser, was arrested, but the fallout from the chaotic event spilt onto social media. The incident has left the TMC and the government red-faced ahead of the polls, with the BJP citing it to slam the government over mismanagement.