BJD demands Sports Minister’s resignation

Bhubaneswar: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has demanded the resignation of Odisha Sports Minister Suryabanshi Suraj on moral grounds following the floodlight failure at Barabati stadium in Cuttack during the second ODI between India and England on February 9.

The BJD spokesman, Lenin Mohanty, said the floodlight failure during the march caused significant embarrassment for Odisha in the global sports community. He said the responsibility for organising such a prestigious event fell on Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) and State government. Mohanty said the floodlight failure exposed flaws in organising the event despite prior reviews conducted by the Sports Minister and the Chief Minister. The State government is entirely responsible for the incident, he added.

However, Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo, who also holds the Energy portfolio, told reporters that the floodlights at Barabati stadium were powered by the stadium’s own generator sets. He said had there been a disruption in the power supply, the entire stadium would have plunged into darkness. Singh Deo said the power supply for the floodlights was interrupted because the generator had burned out. The match was disrupted due to generator malfunction and Energy department had no role in the incident, he added.

Singh Deo also criticised the BJD for demanding the Sports Minister’s resignation reminding the party of a past incident during its tenure when power supply was disrupted during President Droupadi Murmu’s address at a function in Baripada.