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Mani Shankar Aiyar insists Games should not
have been held
Saturday, October 16, 2010 05:44:50 PM,
IANS
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New Delhi:
Congress MP and former sports minister Mani Shankar Aiyar, the
most vocal critic of the just ended Commonwealth Games, still
insists India should have never hosted the event.
But he made it clear in an interview to CNN-IBN that his criticism
of the Commonwealth Games "has nothing to do with the Indian
athlete.
"My criticism has to do with fundamental moral values and national
pride. I asked then and I ask the question now: had Mahatma Gandhi
been alive, would he have agreed to light the lamp to inaugurate
this Games event? The answer is no!
"We are in a country where 47 percent of the children under five
years of age suffer from malnutrition because nine out of 10
pregnant woman are suffering from anaemia. We have one of the
highest infant mortality rates.
"Yet on this Games, if you take both, the relative expenditure has
gone up by four times than the annual budget of the annual rural
health mission.
"Is this the way we should use our resources? Secondly, if we do
have such resources, why we are not deploying them and providing
them sports facilities for our children?"
Aiyar pointed out that 95 percent of Indian children have no
access whatsoever to any sports training. "Instead of making a
nation of sports persons, we are converting ourselves of into"
sports organisers.
Aiyar reiterated that he was not against sports per se -- or
athletes.
"My criticism is never ever with India athletes... In this game
they have won (medals) not because they are provided with special
facilities as a home team.
"They won ... (despite) the incompetence of our sports officials
and others connected with the organising committee."
Aiyar said he was not going to criticise anyone by name for the
shoddy preparations to the Games that came in for international
criticism.
The prime minister "had promised there will be a full and thorough
investigation of everything, including the lapses, and the guilty
will be awarded punishment.
"Now the games are over and ... (let) the promised investigations
begin."
The Oct 3-14 Commonwealth Games ended with Australia notching up
the most number of medals, followed by India and England.
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