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An SMS joke doing the rounds in the city: Suresh Kalmadi tried to hang himself out of shame, but the ceiling collapsed.
WITH the last leg of the run-up to the Commonwealth Games turning into a matter of "national shame", voices in favour of India calling off the event and cutting its losses are getting louder.
But the political class, across the spectrum, is unanimous in its support for the Games being completed successfully. It has, however, questioned the Prime Minister?s lack of involvement in a matter of national prestige and raised the corruption charges against Commonwealth Games Organising Committee (CWG-OC) chairman Suresh Kalmadi.
The political chorus against the mismanagement of the Games, despite the PM's late personal intervention, was led by senior BJP leader M. Venkaiah Naidu, who said: "The group of ministers, the Centre and the Delhi government cannot escape from their failures and accountability. The Prime Minister should step in and assure the nation that everything will be done in time and every care taken." Naidu though made it clear that his party wanted the Games to be successfully completed.
His party colleague, Indian Olympic Association senior vice-president and leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly V. K. Malhotra, was against calling off the Games but wanted the government to show "sincerity in conducting it". He said: "It's too late to call it off at this stage. But, without doubt, the quality of Games projects has been compromised because everyone's racing against time." Ironically, even Congressmen seem to be sceptical of the Organising Committee's ability to pull off the Games. Kurukshetra's Congress MP Navin Jindal was quick to admit that "we are not ready yet". But to balance his expression of doubt, he raised the matter of national prestige. "We should ensure that the Games are conducted in the best possible manner and it would require our sincere contribution," he said.
Sharing the country's concern over what he called a "big national shame", CPI leader D. Raja doubted whether the PM would be able to salvage the situation.
He said reports of some players pulling out did not augur well for the country's image. "There are serious swindling charges against Kalmadi," Raja said. "If charges are being levelled against some people, they should go," he added.
Raja's concern was also raised by Janata Dal (United) president Sharad Yadav. "Those who looted the public's money in the name of the Games are roaming free," Yadav said. "The government is protecting those responsible for the situation," he said.
Former diplomats, meanwhile, are concerned about the serious international image implications the mess has for India. The CWG was to be a launch pad for India, and members of the strategic community cannot but fail to draw a parallel with the Asian Games China hosted in 1990 immediately after the Tiananmen Square massacre. Beijing transformed this crisis into an opportunity using the Asian Games.
Distressed over the turn of events, former foreign secretary Lalit Mansingh said: "An impression has been created internationally that India's political class and its leadership have failed. The government should shed its tentativeness and the PM must step in to redeem the country's prestige." And with China scheduled to host the Asian Games in Guangzhou from November 12, comparisons are bound to be made.
Former deputy national security adviser Satish Chandra said the developments had not only been damaging for India's image worldwide, but also raised doubts about its organisational capabilities. "The situation has been made worse by insensitive statements from ministers and officials.
The message that's gone around is that we have achieved economic growth despite the government," he added.
The misapprehensions expressed by these leaders are being articulated even more strongly by opinion-makers outside the political class, though the prevailing mood seems to be in favour of letting the Games take place. It's a feeling born out of a sense of realism.
As newspaper columnist and Future Brands CEO Santosh Desai put it, "The admission that India is not prepared for the Games will have international repercussions.
I don't think any nation has called off a major sporting event because it felt incapable of holding it. That would be the worst form of humiliation." Even the author of the best-selling Zoya Factor, Anuja Chauhan, was in favour of the Games taking place, but she wants the charges of corruption to be probed thoroughly after the event.
Added well-known architect and writer Gautam Bhatia: "It's hard to call off the Games at this stage as it would sound anti-national. But we should be ashamed for faltering like we have." Ad guru Prahlad Kakkar, though, was of the view that "we should cut our losses and bail out". Kakkar said: "India has two faces. The individual who has laboured hard and shaped the country. And then there is the government that is absolutely incapable of handling anything." If anything, the amateurish handling of the Games, and the government's shoddy attempts at damage control, have only proved that Kakkar and the others who share his disgust are right.
Reproduced From Mail Today. Copyright 2010. MTNPL. All rights reserved.
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