Controversy exhumes Subhas Chakraborty, the CPM min who pioneered mega jamborees in Kol

Kolkata: The large-scale unrest at Salt Lake stadium over Lionel Messi's programme has brought CPM's maverick minister Subhas Chakraborty back into online and offline debates. Chakraborty is largely credited with bringing high-profile celebrity events to Bengal — starting with Hope '86. However, he also faced his share of controversies during his lifetime, including when Kolkata hosted another football legend, Diego Maradona, in 2008.

The Chakraborty debate resurfaced after CPM leaders and supporters took to social media, posting photographs of Chakraborty with Maradona and criticising Trinamool, particularly ministers Aroop Biswas and Sujit Bose. Trinamool immediately responded, alleging that during Chakraborty's tenure as sports minister, Salt Lake and controversies (not to do with sports) were synonymous. The party claimed that in 2008, an upset and irritated Maradona even refused to get out of his car at Mohun Bagan grounds for a long time.





Chakraborty's widow, Ramola, said: "Hope '86 and Maradona's visit had very different objectives. Hope '86 was conceived to showcase the newly built Salt Lake stadium — then Asia's largest — as a venue capable of hosting large-scale events. Just before the Left Front came to power, an event at Rabindra Sarobar during Siddharth Shankar Ray's tenure had descended into chaos, creating adverse publicity about Kolkata's law-and-order situation."

Ramola said Hope '86 was a major success. "Held at the stadium with leading Mumbai artistes, the event drew around 1.2 lakh people and presented a very different narrative," she said. However, Chakraborty faced criticism not only from outside but also from within Left Front, as sections of the orthodox Left objected to what they saw as apasanskriti (decadent culture) in organising Hope '86. Some CPM leaders even dismissed the event as "bourgeois decadence".

Despite the criticism, then CM Jyoti Basu inaugurated Hope '86, with Bollywood's who's who in attendance. "There were attempts to malign Subhas over Hope '86, but they failed. His only ‘fault' was bringing artistes from Mumbai," Ramola said.

"Subhas's decision to bring Maradona was driven by Bengal's passion for football. Accompanied by Subhendu Sarkar, who was bilingual, Subhas even learned Spanish for two months to communicate with Maradona. Their emotional bond was evident in a photograph that later went viral, and after Subhas's death, Maradona sent a condolence letter — a deeply touching gesture," Ramola said.

But all was not well in 2008. A TOI report that year wrote about a ruckus at Salt Lake stadium, attacks on media personnel outside Jyoti Basu's house by Chakraborty's supporters, and fans breaking through barricades at Mother House. Some reports even suggested that the football legend himself suffered bruises and scars during the pushing and shoving at the stadium. As one of his close aides later put it, Maradona was left "traumatised" and refused to take the stage at the Mohun Bagan grounds.

Ramola said: "I am unaware of what happened outside Indira Bhavan, as I was inside with Jyoti Basu. The frenzy to catch a glimpse of Maradona was expected, and the police might have had to take drastic measures to control the crowd. From the airport to the hotel, Maradona was greeted by massive crowds, yet there was no trouble."

"It is natural for people to be excited about figures like Maradona or Messi, but ensuring smooth organisation is the administration's responsibility. Organisers cannot manage everything on their own; they need govt support for the necessary arrangements."

Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said: "Back then, there was no social media to deal with. Salt Lake was mired in controversy, including those involving Chakraborty, who was then the sports minister. Criminals were arrested from Salt Lake, and this was no covert police operation. It appears that another CPM bigwig tipped off cops to embarrass Chakraborty. NGOs and organisations patronised by him had free run of the stadium."

"After Trinamool govt assumed office in 2011, we hosted Messi for a full 90-minute exhibition match against Venezuela. The same stadium also hosted the FIFA Under-17 World Cup. When we talk, let's talk reason. CPM supporters on social media may have short memories; unfortunately, people do not," he added.