New Delhi: Former India cricketer and West Bengal minister Manoj Tiwary has made an explosive claim about the Trinamool Congress (TMC) asking for Rs 5 crore from him for a ticket to contest this year’s Assembly elections.
The “TMC chapter is over”, he said, alleging that the party denied him a ticket from Howrah’s Shibpur constituency for refusing to pay, as reported by Kunal Ghosh.
Tiwary (40), the highest run-getter in history of Bengal cricket (10,195 first-class runs) was a minister of state for sports in the government led by Mamata Banerjee, whose 15-year tenure ended with a BJP sweep of the latest assembly elections on Monday.
“Look, I am not at all surprised by this debacle. This was bound to happen when an entire party has indulged in corrupt practices and there was no development in any sector,” Tiwary told PTI in an interview.
“Only those who could pay hefty money could buy tickets. At least 70-72 candidates this time paid around Rs five crore to get a ticket. I was asked but I refused to pay. Just check how many of those who paid up have managed to win,” he said.
“As far as TMC is concerned, that chapter is over (for me),” he declared.
He had no intention of joining politics even though he was offered a Lok Sabha Ticket by TMC back in 2019, the cricketer said. He eventually relented by contesting and winning from Shibpur in the 2021 Assembly polls.
“At that time, I had played for Punjab Kings in the IPL and was still playing Ranji Trophy seriously when Didi (Mamata) wanted me to contest the Lok Sabha,” he said.
“I had politely declined but before the 2021 elections, Didi once again called and told me ‘Manoj, I have a message for you and Aroop will tell you’. I was asked to contest from Shibpur and I thought that I could make a meaningful change,” Tiwary added.
The Trinamool Congress lacks internal democracy, he alleged.
“I have attended meetings where all TMC ministers were summoned. Now I was given a lollypop called MoS which basically meant nothing. If I stood up and said ‘Didi I want to draw your attention to a certain problem’, she would just stop us midway and say ‘I don’t have time for you people’,” he said.
The longstanding issue of failing sewage and drainage systems in Howrah district was not addressed despite his repeated efforts, Tiwary claimed.
“Being a sitting MLA, I would run from pillar to post for drainage work in my constituency but people who controlled Howrah Municipality for years without allowing elections to happen, never cared,” he said.
“They would simply stall developmental work which is very basic. I can tell you that some of the work that I got done was not just from MLA fund but also I paid from my own pocket to complete projects. Every year Didi would announce a Master Plan for upgradation of underground drainage system but that was it, just lip service,” Tiwary said.
The cricketer had to fight perception battles of his own, including allegations that he was involved in extortion from builders in his constituency. he laughed off the charge.
“Let me tell you that when I filed my income affidavit before the 2021 elections, I had declared that I had Rs 20 crore in cash. I have played IPL for 10 years, first-class cricket for 20 years, was part of Indian squads for a good number of years. I don’t need extortion money. There were 7-8 local councillors who would regularly write to Didi. False allegations were levelled against me,” Tiwary countered.
He felt slighted by the state’s sports minister for Aroop Biswas. He was not allowed perform his ministerial duties by Biswas because of insecurity, Tiwary alleged.
“Aroop Da doesn’t know A,B, C, D of any sport. There would be functions where both Aroop da and I would be invited and I would not be called on the dais. There was one Durand Cup unveiling where my pictures were flashed in sports pages and from next Durand Cup, I wouldn’t get any invite,” he alleged.
He is happy for not attending the Lionel Messi event in Kolkata which became a “royal mess” in the end, the cricketer said.
There was vandalism at the iconic Salt Lake Stadium after a capacity crowd was denied even a clear view of Messi as politicians and local administrators mobbed him. He was whisked away early due to security concerns.
“I knew something like this would happen and refrained from attending the event. I didn’t want to be part of an event where common people were taken for a ride. I would repeatedly ask Aroop da, ‘Dada please introduce a sports policy as per allocated budget’. He never bothered,” Tiwary said.
The cricketer wants to become the head coach of Bengal’s Ranji team.
“The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) had invited applications for head coach’s post. I have passed my BCCI Level 2 exam with ‘distinction’ and want to pursue serious coaching in near future,” he said.
