Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on December 13 contrasted West Bengal’s handling of Lionel Messi’s Kolkata appearance with large, peaceful public gatherings in other states, saying the chaos reflected a “total collapse of law and order” and an extreme culture of VIP privilege.

Referring to crowd management after the death of singer Zubeen Garg and at international music events in Assam, Sarma said the disorder in Kolkata was avoidable. “After Zubeen Garg’s death, Guwahati’s roads were filled with around 10 lakh people for three days, but no mishap was reported. Post Malone’s function happened here peacefully. Around 50,000 people went there, and no incident was reported,” he said, adding that even events such as the Women’s World Cup final in Mumbai passed off smoothly.

“But Wes

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