Kolkata: Leader of the Trinamool Congress Kunal Ghosh questioned the decision on Saturday to postpone the Durand Cup group stage football match between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, which was scheduled to take place on Sunday at Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium due to possible security concerns stemming from the city’s widespread protests against the RG Kar rape-murder incident.
There are rumours that the police have stated that it will be difficult to provide extra protection for the Derby match because of the unrest in Kolkata over the rape and killing of a junior doctor at the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital last week.
However, Trinamool leader Ghosh said the move will have a more negative impact on the minds of the people of the state in the backdrop of the growing public grievances against the ghastly rape-murder incident.
According to Ghosh, the administration must reconsider the decision even if some spectators display ‘We Want Justice’ posters at the stadium during the much-anticipated match.
“Cancelling the Derby will give the opposition parties, especially the CPI(M) and BJP, further ammunition to sensationalise the issue. Being a Mohun Bagan supporter and also a soldier of Trinamool Congress, I am sad with the decision to cancel the match,” Ghosh said.
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The disturbance in Kolkata made it challenging to arrange sufficient police deployment, so the match was called off.
“Bengali sentiments are attached with Mohun Bagan-East Bengal Derby clashes which were ignored while taking the decision to cancel the match. I fully agree with Kunal Ghosh that this will complicate the situation further,” said a Trinamool legislator who did not wish to be named.
The opposition parties, too, have opposed the decision to cancel the match. According to CPI (M) state Secretary Md Salim, this decision shows how scared the state administration is because of the spontaneous protests across the state on the R.G. Kar issue.
The state BJP leadership also claims that the decision proves that the Trinamool Congress and the state administration do not care about the people’s sentiments.
Durand Cup is the oldest football tournament in Asia. It was first held in 1888 in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, and is hosted by the Durand Football Tournament Society and the All India Football Federation.
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Photo: IANS
