The day after tending his resignation from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) following the party’s defeat in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, former cricketer and outgoing Minister of State (MoS) for Sports and Youth Affairs Manoj Tiwary launched a scathing attack on the party hierarchy. In a detailed exposé, Tiwary claimed that his tenure was defined by “insults and humiliation”, alleging that senior sports minister Arup Biswas systematically prevented him from carrying out his duties.
Tiwary, who entered politics in 2021 with an ambition to overhaul the state’s sports infrastructure, described his ministerial portfolio as nothing but a lollipop. He suggested that despite his electoral success, he had been relegated to a ceremonial role with no functional authority.
“When I was made MoS after the victory, I thought I would be able to bring a lot of development and improvement in this department,” Tiwary said in a Facebook video on Wednesday.
“But what I saw was that Arup Biswas would not allow any good work to happen there. Why? Because they gave me the post of MoS just a lollipop and I stayed away. Apart from tea and biscuits, I had no work in the sports department.”
MESSI DISORDER
The former captain of the Bengal cricket team specifically emphasized Lionel Messi’s controversial visit at the end of 2025 as a turning point. What was supposed to be a landmark event for Bengali football ended in confusion as Messi left the venue within minutes as mismanagement of the event came under the scanner. The fallout eventually led to the temporary resignation of Arup Biswas.
Tiwary revealed that he deliberately boycotted the event as he foresaw disaster.
“You all saw the Messi incident. I already knew the atmosphere there. They insulted me at every stage – they didn’t call me on stage properly. Even at the final award ceremony I went to the floor, but they didn’t call me on purpose. They couldn’t tolerate my presence there either.”
“When I experienced those feelings again and again, I understood that if I continued there, they would repeatedly insult and humiliate me. That’s why when the Messi episode happened – when Messi came, as you all know – I did not go to the ground. I knew that such an incident would happen.”
He laid the blame for the international disgrace squarely at the feet of his senior colleague.
“You all saw that because of Arup Biswas, football lovers across our state and across India could not see Messi properly because Messi left within five minutes. Such a huge opportunity was wasted only because of Arup Biswas.”
STOPPED REFORMS
Apart from personal friction, Tiwary’s allegations point to a deeper political paralysis within the state’s sports administration. The former middle-order batsman claimed that his attempts to use his international sporting contacts to benefit the Bengali youth were met with uncertainty and rejection.
Tiwary cited a specific proposal to bring Jamaican sprinting legend and Olympic gold medalist Yohan Blake to West Bengal to establish a ‘Centre of Excellence’. Despite the project requiring a relatively modest investment of Rs 5 crore out of the total sports budget of Rs 700 crore, the proposal was summarily rejected.
“And I also want to tell you this – through my own connections, I arranged for Johan Blake – you all know him, a world-renowned athlete and athlete, an Olympic relay gold medalist along with Usain Bolt and also a junior world championship gold medalist – to come to Bengal and help create a center of excellence here,” Tiwary said.
“When I took this proposal to Arup Biswas, he did not allow it.
“I even went to the Honorable Chief Minister with this suggestion, but she said, ‘No, you talk to Arup Biswas.’ As the sports minister felt insecure about me, he refused. My heart was completely broken.”
The lack of a modern sports policy, Tiwary argued, had led to a “brain drain” of talent, with budding athletes forced to represent other states to find adequate support. “If you compare the sports policy of these states to our state’s sports policy, then you will understand the difference in value. We could not stop the boys and girls from leaving.”
When contemplating his entry into politics, Tiwary admitted that he had initially hoped that the TMC would provide a platform to prevent other athletes from suffering the problems he had faced during his own rise. Now he believes that his reputation was used only for election optics.
“I realized that I was brought into politics only to be used,” he said.
“I thought a guy from the sports world coming into politics would make a big difference. But in reality I saw something completely different.”
The TMC leadership is yet to issue a formal rebuttal to Tiwary’s claim, though party insiders suggest the timing of the allegations — coming immediately after the election loss — is politically motivated. For Tiwary, however, the exit marks the end of a frustrating five-year stint where he feels his primary contribution to the state’s sporting future has been curtailed by the very government he served under.
– The end
Issued by:
Akshay Ramesh
Published on:
07 May 2026 07:40 IST
