BJP’s national spokesperson and Darjeeling MP Raju Bista has come down heavily on Siliguri MLA Asok Bhattacharya for his comments related to former Captain of the Indian Cricket team, Sourav Ganguly, who is undergoing angioplasty in a private hospital in Kolkata.

According to Mr Bista, Asok Bhattacharya had “shown his moral and humane bankruptcy” in turning Mr Ganguly’s illness into a political blame game.

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After visiting Mr Ganguly in hospital, the former urban development minister and veteran CPI-M leader, Mr Bhattacharya had told reporters: “They will use him to fulfill their political interests, it was unexpected.”

Referring to newspaper reports, Mr Bhattacharya claimed Mr Ganguly was under pressure to join politics and this was the very reason his blood pressure had shot up.

Mr Bhattacharya maintains close relations with the former skipper ever since the Left regime in the state. Speculations are rife that Mr Ganguly would join the BJP ahead of the Assembly elections.

The speculations were fuelled by his meeting with West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and after he attended a programme in Delhi the next day, where Home minister Amit Shah was present.

“From what the doctors treating him have stated, it appears that Sourav Dada has had heart-related issues for a while now, which even he was unaware of. In turning his illness into a political blame game, Asok ji has only shown his moral and humane bankruptcy. I would request him and everyone else who are trying to politicize Dada’s illness to desist from doing so,” Mr Bista said.

“This is the time for all of us to pray for his early recovery and to lend him all support that is possible from our side.”

“We have a saying in Nepali, “kag le kaag kai naam katcha”, which means a person will look at the world the way he or she is, a crow will always crow its own name. I feel sad and sorry that someone like Asok ji who has spent his entire lifetime in politics, is today reduced to politicizing even the health issue of one of India’s most favourite cricketers,” the MP added.

Reacting to Mr Bhattacharya’s comments, state BJP president Dilip Ghosh has also said: “Who finds politics here, they are suffering from ‘distortion of intellect.'”