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Concern has been raised about poor conditions at the Commonwealth Games athletes' village in India
Scottish athletes should attend the Commonwealth Games in Delhi to avoid damaging the 2014 event in Glasgow, the city's former lord provost has claimed.
Michael Kelly said it would be a financial disaster for Scotland if the the crisis-hit event impacted on the next games.
Scotland has delayed sending athletes to Delhi amid concerns over safety, security and conditions.
An emergency question on the issue as been tabled in the Scottish Parliament.
Several top athletes have withdrawn from the games after a footbridge to the main stadium collapsed and the roof of the weightlifting venue fell in.
Team leaders from England, Wales, New Zealand, Australia and Canada have also expressed "grave concerns" over the accommodation for 6,500 members.
Related stories
Canada and New Zealand have delayed the departure of their teams.
Commonwealth Games Scotland said they were monitoring the situation and no decision had been made about withdrawing from the event.
Protect investment
Mr Kelly told BBC Scotland: "I think the Scotland team must go. Of all the nations in the Commonwealth, Scotland must be there because Glasgow is holding the next games and we must ensure that first of all the mark of the Commonwealth Games is damaged as little as possible.
"And secondly when the games go ahead in Glasgow there is not a resentful bite back from developing countries who maybe feel that we are trying to impose our standards on them.
"So Scotland has got to take the lead to protect the huge investment that Glasgow has made in these games."
Mr Kelly said the problems had left a large question mark over the games.
He added: "Already people were calling them an anachronism, already people were saying they are not really particularly competitive compared to the Pan American Games, the Olympics, the Europeans.
"We don't want to give any of these other countries the excuse to break up the Commonwealth Games and not to come to Glasgow because that would be a financial disaster for Scotland."
This article is from the BBC News website. ? British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Concern has been raised about poor conditions at the Commonwealth Games athletes' village in India Scottish athletes should attend the Commonwealth Games in Delhi to avoid damaging the 2014 event in Glasgow, the city's former lord provost has claimed.
Michael Kelly said it would be a financial disaster for Scotland if the the crisis-hit event impacted on the next games.
Scotland has delayed sending athletes to Delhi amid concerns over safety, security and conditions.
An emergency question on the issue as been tabled in the Scottish Parliament.
Several top athletes have withdrawn from the games after a footbridge to the main stadium collapsed and the roof of the weightlifting venue fell in.
Team leaders from England, Wales, New Zealand, Australia and Canada have also expressed "grave concerns" over the accommodation for 6,500 members.
Related stories
Canada and New Zealand have delayed the departure of their teams.
Commonwealth Games Scotland said they were monitoring the situation and no decision had been made about withdrawing from the event.
Protect investment
Mr Kelly told BBC Scotland: "I think the Scotland team must go. Of all the nations in the Commonwealth, Scotland must be there because Glasgow is holding the next games and we must ensure that first of all the mark of the Commonwealth Games is damaged as little as possible.
"And secondly when the games go ahead in Glasgow there is not a resentful bite back from developing countries who maybe feel that we are trying to impose our standards on them.
"So Scotland has got to take the lead to protect the huge investment that Glasgow has made in these games."
Mr Kelly said the problems had left a large question mark over the games.
He added: "Already people were calling them an anachronism, already people were saying they are not really particularly competitive compared to the Pan American Games, the Olympics, the Europeans.
"We don't want to give any of these other countries the excuse to break up the Commonwealth Games and not to come to Glasgow because that would be a financial disaster for Scotland."
This article is from the BBC News website. ? British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.