Siliguri:Former India captain Sourav Ganguly is in the eye of the storm over his announcement of investment plans in West Bengal's Midnapore from Madrid. Barring the Trinamool Congress, all the political parties have attacked Ganguly and many questioned his intentions.
One of most prominent persons, who aired discontent, was Ganguly's one-time close family friend and former West Bengal PWD minister during the Left Front regime Ashok Bhattacharya. Ganguly used to share a good rapport with Bhattacharya and his relationship with the then minister was transformed into a family relation.
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Cut to 2023. Ashok Bhattacharya distanced from each other and the 74-year-old politician is miffed with his one-time protege. That 'conceit' came to the fore during an interaction with ETV Bharat on Wednesday.
Bhattacharya is also upset with the fact that despite his close association with Sourav for many decades, the ex-India captain neither bothered to visit him nor called him after the death of his wife.
He said Sourav he used to know even two decades ago is not the same person today. "He was supposed to come to meet me when my wife passed away, but he neither came nor called," Bhattacharya said.
Read more: Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly to build his third steel factory in Bengal's Midnapore
A miffed Bhattacharya vividly recalled Sourav who was fond of cooked food of his deceased wife Ratna used to visit their house in Siliguri. Ganguly even talked about his ties with Bhattacharya's family and praised late Ratna's cooking in public forums, the veteran CPI(M) leader said.
"I'll always be a well wisher of Sourav throughout my life. Buddha babu (Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee) and I stood by Sourav during his bad times. After he was dropped from the Indian side, we formed a public opinion as he is the pride of India," Bhattacharya said.
Recently, the former BCCI president went to Madrid and announced the setting up of his own new steel plant in Midnapore. Ganguly was part of the delegation along with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on her business trip to Spain.
He said that after Durgapur and Patna, his third steel factory will come up in Salboni. Asked why Sourav announced his investment plans from Spain, the former Minister said he did not like the announcement from the foreign land.
"Instead of announcing the investment plans from Madrid, he could have announced it from Kolkata. There was no need for an announcement from Madrid. I didn't like it. I did not expect to see Sourav meddling with politicians. I know him not as an industrialist, but as a cricketer," Bhattacharya said.
Ganguly earned 'disrepute' in circles for being an 'opportunist'. Besides Bhattacharya, West Bengal Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, who went for a dinner to the ex-India cricketer's Behala residence with Union Home Minister Amit Shah last year, also called Ganguly an 'opportunist'.
