BHUBANESWAR: A war of words ensued between Sports minister Suryabanshi Suraj and former Sports minister Tusharkanti Behera after a video of two vehicles moving on the athletics track of the Kalinga Stadium in the city emerged on Sunday.
The controversy began after Behera expressed concern over the incident, calling it ‘outrageously disappointing and shameful’. Taking to X, he posted, “Athletic track in Kalinga Stadium: During @Naveen_Odisha’s (Naveen Patnaik) Era, it was a running track of international athletes. Now, it is running track of vehicles belonging to the ruling party (BJP) leaders.”
Behera accused the BJP government of misusing public assets. “Crores of rupees have been spent to prepare the tracks and the world-class stadium. It should not be misused,” he said.
The incident also drew criticism from sports enthusiasts with many questioning the prioritisation of administrative convenience over the sanctity of sports infrastructure. The Kalinga Stadium has been hosting numerous international events in the recent years.
Suraj, however, defended the presence of the vehicles on the track, citing an emergency situation, though he refrained from disclosing details about the nature of the emergency.
“There are certain things which require confidentiality for athletes and that should not be made public. Had there been no emergent situation, the vehicles would not have gone on to the athletics track. The former minister should have realised that this was not a normal situation and it was raining heavily,” Suraj clarified while interacting with mediapersons.
The Sports minister said high-profile visitors, including ministers and VIPs usually leave their vehicles outside before entering the tracks. “Unless there is an emergency or a medical necessity, no one would have been allowed to enter with any vehicle on to the track. The vehicles were allowed because of a rare necessity,” he said.