TMC gets ₹100cr defamation threat from Messi India tour promoter
What's the story
Satadru Dutta, the promoter of Lionel Messi's GOAT Tour in India, has threatened to file a ₹100 crore defamation suit against the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC). The announcement comes after TMC's defeat in the recent Bengal elections. In a series of posts on social media, Dutta, who was arrested for 37 days following a chaotic event at Salt Lake Stadium during Messi's visit, accused TMC of ruining three years of his hard work and defaming him.
Post
'I will go to the Supreme Court'
"Just because you have lost in the elections, don't think that you have been punished. I will lodge a defamation case and I will go to the Supreme Court if need be. I will fight till the end," he said. The Argentine star's fans had lost their cool when they hardly got a sight of him despite paying ₹4,300 to ₹25,000. Messi left the stadium minutes after arriving as unregistered fans crowded him for photographs.
Event fallout
Dutta slams former Bengal sports minister
Dutta has also slammed former West Bengal Sports Minister Aroop Biswas for allegedly crowding around Messi with his aides. This, according to Dutta, irritated the football star and led to vandalism inside the stadium. "Repeatedly, I told him not to click pictures here. But he used his power and went on to take photos," Dutta said.
Press conference
Press conference coming soon, everything will be exposed: Dutta
Dutta has announced a press conference where he plans to reveal more details on how he believes Biswas and his team sabotaged the event. He wrote on social media, "Press conference is coming soon. Everything will be exposed....You put me in jail for 38 days. Now, it's my turn." Dutta also accused Biswas of using intimidation tactics against organizers to gain access to Messi. "Intimidation. Control. Your stooges didn't just interfere...they blackmailed my event. They sabotaged everything."
Policy criticism
Manoj Tiwary slams Biswas's handling of sports policy
Former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary has also criticized Biswas's handling of sports policy during his tenure. After quitting TMC, Tiwary said Biswas didn't know "A, B, C, D of sports" and blocked the state's sports policy. The TMC was ousted from Bengal after a 15-year rule with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) winning 207 seats in the polls.