KOLKATA: Differences in opinion is not something the
Mamata Banerjee cabinet usually deals with. But with the World Cup on, discord has slowly crept in among the state lawmakers. And still, the white-and-blue combination — the CM’s favourite — has emerged the winner as most of her cabinet colleagues are rooting for Argentina.
Moloy Ghatak, the state law and labour minister, for instance, has been supporting Messi & Co. “I’m crazy about Maradona and now I’m rooting for Messi,” he said. “It has come as a blessing that most Argentina matches are close to midnight, allowing me sometime to watch them. It is difficult to watch matches with work pending. I am sure that Argentina will play memorable football this time too,” the Asansol (North) MLA added.
Chandrima Bhattacharya, the MoS for health, e-governance, land and land reforms, is also a die-hard Argentina fan. “Argentina, like Maradona showed, isn’t only about football. Their football is about passion and excitement. I like Messi too,” she said. Football has split her household as well. “My son, like me, is an Argentina fan but my husband is a die-hard Brazil fan,” she chuckled.
State education and parliamentary affairs minister Partha Chatterjee, a Brazil supporter, quipping at his Argentina supporting colleagues, said, “Many of them are Brazil supporters at heart, good performance by other teams made them switch camps. But I’m not like them. I simply love their one-touch football since childhood.” Chatterjee’s health — and workload — don’t permit him to watch all late matches but he catches the repeat telecast of all Brazil matches.
Sports and PWD minister Aroop Biswas puts Brazil always ahead of others. “Like us, they don’t play power football. Their games are more about skill. They play for the love of the game,” he said. A die-hard Ronaldo fan, his love for CR7 makes Portugal his second-favourite team. “I am a blind fan of Ronaldo. He has skill, power and pace. Messi has pace and skill but not power.”
State panchayat minister Subrata Mukherjee is a Germany supporter. “I love European football and Germany is my favourite. What draws me to this team is the fact that it isn’t about big names but a team. Win or loss, they play their game with the same passion and grit. They always play attacking football,” he explained.
State IT minister Bratya Basu, on the other hand, is a fan of good football. His passion for soccer had taken him to the 2010
Fifa World Cup in South Africa where he watched the semi-final and final matches. “I support any team that plays good football,” he said. In the 2018 edition, he felt Russia has an edge. “They look well-organised, their attacks are well-orchestrated.” Rajeeb Banerjee, the state backward classes minister, too, is a soccerlover. This, he said, allowed him to support CR7, Argentina and Brazil in the same breath. Even during his daily visits to the party’s headquarters, he takes short breaks to catch up the score. This “desperation” is not without reason – he tries to maintain a 11:30pm bedtime ritual, unless work. This also rules out all the late-night matches.
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