NEW DELHI: Cricketer-turned politician Yusuf Pathan on Saturday dismissed reports claiming that the TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee either directly or through Sourav Ganguly had asked him to resign from his Lok Sabha seat to pave the way for her to contest a by-election.In a video shared on social media, Pathan termed the reports “completely false” and said neither the former West Bengal chief minister nor any other party leader had ever discussed such a proposal with him.”For quite some time now, a piece of news has been going viral claiming that Mamata Banerjee asked me to resign from my MP seat, Berhampore Lok Sabha constituency, so that she could contest the election from there,” Pathan said.”Mamata Banerjee never spoke to me about this matter. This claim is completely false. So, neither Mamata Banerjee nor any party leader has asked me to resign from my MP seat,” he added.The clarification comes amid speculation surrounding the Berhampore Lok Sabha constituency and reports suggesting that efforts were being made to pave the way for Mamata to enter Parliament through a by-election. The rumours gained traction following reports that the TMC had allegedly sought the help of former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly to persuade Pathan to vacate the seat. The speculation intensified after discussions over Mamata’s political future following her electoral setback against BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari in the West Bengal assembly elections.Earlier, Ganguly had also strongly denied the claims and said reports linking him to any such effort were false.In a statement, Ganguly said it had been alleged that he contacted Pathan on behalf of Mamata and conveyed a message asking him to “step down/resign from his Constitutional post as the elected representative” of the constituency to enable her to contest a by-election.”The aforesaid allegations are untrue,” Ganguly said.Calling the reports irresponsible, he said it was “extremely unfortunate” that no attempt Mamata to have been made to verify the allegations before publication. He further said the claims involving him had been made “in reckless disregard of the truth.” Ganguly also categorically denied acting as an intermediary for the TMC chief. “It is thus necessary to place on record that I was never requested/asked by Ms Mamata Banerjee to convey any message from her to Mr. Yusuf Pathan,” he added.
