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Manoj Tiwary alleges Bengal Sports Minister Aroop Biswas blocked his work, including a Yohan Blake Centre of Excellence plan, says he was used politically by TMC and sidelined
Manoj Tiwary and Yohan Blake (Screengrab and Instagram)
Former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary took to social media to clarify his remarks as an outgoing Trinamool Congress MLA, laying bare the state of sports in Bengal.
The 40-year-old former India batter served as Minister of State for Sports in the government led by Mamata Banerjee, whose 15-year tenure ended after a BJP sweep in the latest assembly elections.
“I faced hurdles in the last five years in my attempts to work for the people of Bengal. As you know, I am a person from the sports field and not a politician. I was called multiple times and invited to join their (TMC) party. In 2019, I said no, but in 2021, I joined as I wanted to help the people and do something for sports in the state. I wanted to help and utilise the position to right the wrongs that sportspersons had faced over the years,” Manoj Tiwary said in a video message.
Yohan Blake Project Rejected!
He revealed that he had arranged for Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake to set up a Centre of Excellence in the state for track and field athletes, but his proposal was rejected. Tiwary said he felt slighted by state Sports Minister Aroop Biswas, alleging that Biswas did not allow him to perform his ministerial duties due to insecurity.
“When I was made MoS (Minister of State – Sports), I thought I would be able to do some good from the department. But what I saw was that there was no intent or scope to any good work by Aroop Biswas. I was just handed a lollipop of MoS and asked to stay on the sides. Apart from having ‘chai-biscuit’, there was no real work in that department.”
“Wanted to help young girls and boys, who are into track and field, football or hockey, with good infrastructure and address their concerns and grievances. I was brought on board just to be used politically and wasn’t allowed to do any real work.”
“I tried and used my personal connections to get Yohan Blake, the world-famous Jamaican sprinter, to build a Centre of Excellence in Bengal. Everything was done, in terms of planning, but when I approached Aroop Biswas that I wanted to bring an international track and field expert, I wasn’t allowed. It would have been at an expense of just INR 5 Crore — even as our Sports budget is INR 700 Crore. I was devastated. I thought about those athletes who were forced to leave Bengal. Other states’ sports policy pool is way bigger. We couldn’t hold back these athletes. Everything was done, but Sports Minister Aroop Biswas just said no, just because of insecurity. We lost such a big opportunity. I had approached the CM (Mamata Banerjee), but she directed me back to Aroop. Did not let me do any work at all,” he said.
Messi Debacle
Tiwary also said he was relieved that he did not attend the Lionel Messi event in Kolkata.
“Remember the Messi debacle, I did not go for that event as I knew something like that would happen. I was at the ground for the Durand Cup finals too, but never called on stage for the prize distribution as they did not want my photo to appear. For Aroop Biswas, our state and our football lovers of Bengal were humiliated. Now people are understanding what I faced in the last five years in the sports department,” he said.
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