'Yohan Blake proposal was thrown away. Ministry only had chai-biscuit culture': Manoj Tiwary exposes TMC in new video

Former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary has made fresh allegations against the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), claiming that his proposal to bring Jamaican sprint legend Yohan Blake to West Bengal was “thrown away” by the state sports ministry, and even chief minister Mamata Banerjee did nothing to stop it.

Tiwary, who served as Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs from 2021 to 2025, said he was not allowed to work properly during his tenure. He directly accused state sports minister Aroop Biswas for blocking his initiatives just because he was insecure of the cricketer’s popularity.

Speaking about his time in the ministry, Tiwary said the MoS role felt like a “lollypop” and that there was hardly any real work being done. “Apart from having chai and biscuits, there was no work in the ministry,” he said in a new video published on his Facebook account.

“I say this with great sadness, as I had hoped to build infrastructure for aspiring athletes across all disciplines. But Aroop Biswas ensured that I was unable to carry out any of these initiatives and had made arrangements to prevent it,” he said.

Tiwary alleges TMC stopped Yohan Blake’s Bengal visit

Tiwary said that he had joined politics with the aim of building sports infrastructure for young athletes across different disciplines in Bengal, but Aroop Biswas didn’t let him work. The 40-year-old, who has scored over 10,000 runs in first-class cricket, said one of his biggest disappointments was the rejection of his plan to bring Blake.

“I would also like to share that, through my connections, I had planned to bring world-renowned track and field athlete Yohan Blake, won an Olympic gold medal with Usain Bolt in relay race, to Bengal and make him a part of the Centre of Excellence hub. However, when I presented this proposal to Aroop Biswas, seeking approval to bring Blake, he rejected it. The total expense would have been only around Rs 5 crore. When we have a sports budget of Rs 700 crore, that proposal was simply thrown away. It was rejected. I was completely heartbroken,” he said.

Tiwary further claimed that the proposal was initially approved but later stopped. He also said he approached Mamata Banerjee regarding the plan, but was asked to discuss it with Biswas instead.The former India batter also raised concerns about athletes leaving the state for better opportunities elsewhere. He said that when compared to other states, Bengal’s sports policy is not where it should be.

“Athletes are leaving the state and moving to other states, because if you compare the sports policies of other states with ours, you can clearly see the difference in prize money and support. This is why I wanted Yohan Blake to come and inspire the youth of the state. It was approved initially but Aroop Biswas stopped such a good opportunity simply because of insecurities. I took this proposal to Bengal CM, but even she asked me to talk to Aroop Biswas. Can you imagine how big an opportnity this would have been for the youth of our state, but he simply rejected it,” he said.

These fresh claims come a day after
Tiwary made serious allegations against TMC in an interview with PTI, where he said he was asked to pay Rs 5 crore for an MLA ticket but refused. He had also criticised the party for lack of development and alleged corruption in the system.

Tiwary’s statements have come after Mamata Banerjee lost power following the recent Assembly elections, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) winning in West Bengal for the first time.