Why Sourav Ganguly announced industry project abroad, asks Bengal BJP chief

Ganguly, who attended an event along with Mamata Banerjee in Spain, said that he was in the process of building his third steel plant in West Bengal.

A day after former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly shared an update about setting up his third steel plant in Bengal, the state BJP reacted critically about the way "he was pitched to announce" the industrial project abroad, while Ganguly shared the stage with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar, on Saturday, questioned the purpose of having an industry-specific announcement made through Sourav Ganguly in Spain. “I fail to understand. Sourav Ganguly could have made the announcement standing in Kolkata, Delhi or in Mumbai,” he said.

Banerjee, on Friday, during her tour abroad to promote the state's upcoming business summit, had addressed a gathering in Madrid, where she invited Spanish investors to the state’s mega-event.

Ganguly, who attended the event along with Banerjee, said that he was in the process of building his third steel plant in West Bengal. “A lot of us believe that I only played a sport, but we started a small steel plant in 2007… And in the next five to six months, we will start building our new steel plant in Medinipur,” Ganguly said.

He told the gathering that the entire process (official work) took four to five months to complete. “We will build a state of the art facility within a year’s time in the district of Medinipur,” he stated.

Taking a dig further at the Bengal government’s attempt at wooing investors for the state, Majumdar said, "As the Chief Minister is on a tour of Spain, hopes were that some industrialists from the country concerned would announce that he would set up a steel plant, or an academy (La Liga Spanish league has agreed to set up a football training academy in West Bengal) or some other project."

"Ganguly is known for being a cricketer, and may now be taking up the role of an industrialist, which is his personal affair."

Ganguly, popular as ‘dada’ (elder brother), draws enormous affection in the state, cutting across party-lines. Rumours have emerged time and again of him joining politics, but he has maintained adequate distances as of now.