What was billed as a dream-come-true moment for football fans in Kolkata spiralled into disorder, vandalism, and police lathi-charge within minutes. Lionel Messi’s brief appearance at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, better known as Salt Lake Stadium, did not merely disappoint thousands of fans. It exposed, yet again, a chronic and dangerous truth about opposition-ruled states: they repeatedly fail the most basic test of governance, maintaining law and order during predictable mass events.

The chaos in Kolkata is not an isolated embarrassment. It echoes, disturbingly, the tragic stampede in Bengaluru earlier this year, during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL victory celebrations, where at least 11 people lost their lives. One incident ended in vandalism and humiliation; the other

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