West Bengal Sports Minister Resigns Amid Messi Visit Controversy

The pandemonium at Kolkata’s Salt Lake stadium during football superstar Lionel Messi’s visit claimed its first political casualty on Tuesday with the resignation of Aroop Biswas as West Bengal’s Sports Minister.He will, however, continue to hold the portfolio of the Power and Housing Departments. Biswas offered his resignation as Sports Minister, citing the need for an “unbiased investigation” into Saturday’s incident as the ruling TMC was facing heat over the mismanagement. His resignation was quickly accepted by Chief Mamata Banerjee, who, in a statement, replied, “ I appreciate the sentiment and intention of the Sports Minister to offer a relief from the Sports Department for the sake of impartial inquiry… I think he is very much correct, and until and unless the impartial inquiry is over, the Sports Department will be looked after by me for the time being.”