Commonwealth Games-New Delhi 2010

TonyMontana · Post by **TonyMontana** » 25 Sep 2010 03:24

Ajatshatru wrote:
But we must become a China in 10 years.
Are you serious? You want India to become another China?

In terms of GDP, not political system.

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 25 Sep 2010 03:36

Hah - India is forever a nation of tomorrow, instead of today.

'We will be this' and 'we will be that' - the clarion call of procrastination.

India should have waited for that ever-delayed tomorrow to arrive, before trying to host any games. That would solve the problem of having to live upto standards that many in the world already commonly practice.

When corruption and debasement of this kind show themselves, it's okay to be ashamed to be Indian, and to loudly say so.

Marie Antoinette wrote:I simply don't understand why the peasants want to eat bread - let them eat cake!

TonyMontana · Post by **TonyMontana** » 25 Sep 2010 03:41

Ajatshatru wrote:
But we must become a China in 10 years.
We would, in fact, overtake China in a few years.

Love the attitude. If only more Indians shared your confidence.

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 25 Sep 2010 03:49

Confidence that is not based on reality is blindness.

Success is based on doing, and not on bragging.

It seems that Indians are seeking bragging opportunities, rather than success.

The country suffers from a fundamental EQ deficiency - constructive criticism, humility and basic sagacity demand we own upto it, instead of donning rose-coloured glasses and defiantly insisting that nothing is seriously wrong.

There is something horribly wrong with the political setup when politicians can disingenuously spit out bald-faced lies about basic things like hygiene, because they know they'll never be held accountable for their stances.

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 25 Sep 2010 04:10

No, people here need to understand the need for constructive criticism, rather than us all living in a Fool's Paradise.

There are glaring deficiencies in India which call for very strident condemnations. They simply cannot be glossed over. To gloss them over out of mere petty pride or egoism is to do a basic disservice to society. As they say, "Pride Comes Before a Fall" - and that has definitely occurred in this instance.

We all want to blame the White Man for all the ills plaguing the country, but when we see the naked corruption and culture of denial defiantly staring back in the face of international spotlight, then it's plainly obvious how many of our ills are homegrown.

There is an Enemy Within.

Just imagine if this was a warfront debacle. Imagine if China had overrun our border to occupy the entire NorthEast. Imagine India's ruling politicians defiantly proclaiming in Nehruvian style that "media are exaggerating" and "not a blade of grass grows there anyway". Or even better - "we will get it back from them tomorrow"

There needs to be a better reconciliation with reality than to say, "you are just speaking treason"
Constructive criticism and introspection are necessary in order for reform to occur.

There is something horribly wrong with this picture, when Indian politicians are just disingenuously spitting out duplicitous garbage from their mouths: "The Westerners have different standards of hygiene" (ie. no problems have occurred, it is just a figment of the phirangi imagination, a conspiracy, idle whining, etc)

This incident of corruption has again exposed the ugly underbelly that lies beneath what India would desperately like the world to see. But impressions cannot be formed on a pretense - credibility cannot be built on a masquerade.

India cannot proceed to advance itself without deep political cleansing.

sourab_c · Post by **sourab_c** » 25 Sep 2010 04:27

The frustration among Indians is clearly evident on this forum. I only hope that this frustration is reflected in the next elections.

Nevertheless, the damage has already been done, no Bollywood style grand opening ceremony can reverse the damage done to our PR. A successful games would have been a great nation building exercise and would have helped bring the nation closer together.

Living in Canada, when I saw those pictures of the village in the front page of all major news stands, my head bowed down in shame. Every Indian would have to carry this shameful legacy for years to come.

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 25 Sep 2010 04:28

(NYT)Sanitation Uproar in India Sparks a Controversy

Listen to these crooks hiding behind 'patriotism'. This is a true example showing how "patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels":

India cautions world to show 'respect' in Commonwealth Games criticisms

"There is no major project anywhere which is concluded to perfection," Sharma told reporters, noting that Canada has faced similar criticism in the past when hosting global events. "Trying to run down the country is not acceptable to us."

They're talking about defending India's respect, but they're really afraid of everyone running down the ruling Kaangress.

Notice how these blackmailers are trying to rally national pride to defend their incompetence. ("Don't criticize our crookedness, or we'll hold it against you")
I beg to differ - the Kaangress is overwhelmingly deserving of criticism, and no amount of false nationalistic posturing is going to change that. This is the same crooked party that accuses BJP of jingoism on issues of vital national interest, and now the crooks are craftily resorting to jingoism themselves. How disgusting.

They're going to need every single rigged vote their Electronic Voting Machines can muster in order to escape the justifiable repercussions from this mess.

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 25 Sep 2010 04:42

By defending this mess, you are defending corruption in India.

This mess should not be defended but condemned, just like any corruption. Kaangress doesn't want its corruption to be highlighted, condemned, or eliminated, and will resort to any crooked means to escape justice.

In order for Indians to have a better quality of life, corruption has to be rejected, not accommodated or justified.

Yes, I am angry about this ugly mess - not because it has tarnished India's image badly (which it most certainly has, no matter what the politicians say), but because of the naked and defiant way in which the corrupt have sought to wriggle free of accountability. Rather than admitting their wrongs, they have sought to downplay, deny, defend, dissimulate, deceive, distort, delude, defy, and dodge.

Their behavior has been so naked and so brazen, it's absolutely revolting.
As their next stunt in their survival act, I'm expecting the whole Kaangress to do a Natwar Singh, and loudly shriek "You are just attacking me because you hate Muslims!"

sourab_c · Post by **sourab_c** » 25 Sep 2010 05:18

Ajatshatru wrote:
Every Indian would have to carry this shameful legacy for years to come.
Though a relief that majority of Indians may not share your gloomy sentiment.

BTW, never knew you have been made an official spokesperson of "Every Indian" around the world....

My reply to that could be to the tune of -

"Funny, I wasn't aware that you have been made an official spokesperson of 'majority of Indians' either."

but I know I will regret it, so I wont do it.

Ajatshatru wrote:
By defending this mess, you are defending corruption in India (per se).

Lawhoree logic at its finest....

BTW, my pride in being an Indian is not so fragile that it would get shattered if there may have been some initial hiccups some days prior to the official start of CWG.... and that should be enough reason, according to some members of BR sitting in Canada, that "Every Indian would have to carry this shameful legacy for years to come".

I admire that you are resilient to such "hiccups," but it would be in your best interest if you do not let let that resilience and national pride blind you.

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 25 Sep 2010 05:21

I'm not the one suffering from Lahoree logic, when it can clearly be seen that the govt is using its machinery to try and defend its shoddy actions:

http://www.cbc.ca/commonwealthgames/sto ... ister.html

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/markets ... t=b4625054

I wholeheartedly agree with those who see the current ruling kleptocracy as a blot on the nation:

http://www.dailypioneer.com/285483/Corr ... eople.html

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 25 Sep 2010 05:23

AdityaM wrote:Media going into overdrive in presenting the tough guy image of MMS. Soon public will be all praises for upa. As I said before kalmadi is the sponge that absorbs all criticism that should have been directed elsewhere. Now channels are openly blaming bjp for not speaking up earlier while not a word against congress.

The tweet from Kanchangupta might explain why

Dilli grapevine says certain 'journos' including TV stars have received brown paper packets, the sarkari kind, sealed and delivered at home.
1:45 PM Sep 23rd via TweetDeck

Anant · Post by **Anant** » 25 Sep 2010 05:52

I for one agree 110% with Sanjay M. First of all, I've read Sanjay M's posts and I think it is insulting for a forum of this caliber to call anyone who makes a critical comment an "anti-Indian" or "Pakistani." That needs to stop and there is no need for ad hominem attacks. Sanjay M is as Indian as I am and I've enjoyed his posts in Space threads etc. Now on to the task at hand. Trust me, when I say this damage has been done and its extensive. I work for an American company and I also work as a consultant with Indian going concerns. Even without this commonwealth games fiasco, the one rap my colleagues had against Indians was that they promised too much, were unabashedly arrogant and ultimately under delivered. I too have experienced this and it has driven me batty. Case in point. There is a certain biological technique. That technique was invented in the US and Japan and now India wants it. We market it to Indians. They say no thanks, we know how. A few months later, the answer changes and India says, give it to us. Later, that gets transmorphed to no thanks, we don't need you. It's a form of schizoid behavior that I think arises due to our own inherent intellect. We Indians are smart people and take personal insult when someone else says hey I know something you don't. Thems fighting words as they say. This attitude I think fosters a sort of blind nationalism which leads to the detriment of the Indian state. For one, I live in America and people give 2 hoots about the commonwealth games. But guess what CNN.com has on its lead. Some Indian guy who has done an expose on child labor in Delhi being used to build the venues. It is this tide that as a community of nations that we have to swim against. Do I wish India was the best? Yes. Do I wish we had 1 bazillion nukes, 3 bazillion subs and could push down the throat of any other nation? You bet. But I am equally disappointed in the lame performance of fecal covered toilets, dog crap and shoddy venues. There is no way to spin this. Sorry folks. I am as nationalistic as the last Indian and was sad to see this and listen to the retard Americans dish this crap to me. I hope India learns that it is better to be humble and over perform than underperform and be arrogant. Only then will be succeed. Teddy Roosevelt said Speak softly and carry a big stick. I think India would be best to adhere to this.

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 25 Sep 2010 05:59

Why, Ajatshatru m'boy (real name, plz??) I feel sho embarrashed and humbled in front of your paytreeotik shpirit, that I musht offer profound apologees onlee:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home ... 621125.cms

In that vein, let me praise the Indian govt for its innovative approach to the CommonWealth Games. After all, what better way for Indians to show the rest of the planet their intestinal fortitude than to give the gift of dysentery - the gift that keeps on giving!
We should feel pride that the water running in the Athletic Village is a nice patriotic brown! Jai Hind!
The average Indian has developed superhuman reflexes, which can be viewed on the streets of India everyday, especially during peak rush hour. I'm so glad that the govt has thoughtfully seen fit to provide international athletes a taste of this daily training rigor through ceiling-launched projectile systems, with spontaneous self-triggering capability.
I'm sure Dronacharya would approve! I'm pretty sure this is how the Pandavas did it.
We should also appreciate how having wild dogs running across bedsheets can give visitors a special intimacy with nature, which they may not have experienced elsewhere.
I'm only sad that we could not get monkeys and elephants into the act.
Fortunately, we do have the gentle nibbling of the sweetest and tiniest of God's creatures, the mosquito, to give a constant reminder of India's thriving ecological abundance.
Also, let's not see the collapse of a pedestrian bridge as a threat to public safety, but rather as a monument to the undeniability of physics.

I can't wait for brown-baggers Rajdeep Sardesai and Burqa Dutt to get on the air to correct us foolish mortals of our silly misperceptions, in their inimitably brilliant style.

PS: Anant, I don't care what kind of anti-national he calls me, just as long as Indians remember moments like this to take with them into the next elections. Indians deserve a far better govt than the current one, though I've no doubt that the current rulers will pull out every trick to hang onto power, and thwart their removal. The day that the govt in New Delhi changes cannot come too soon for me.

Fidel Guevara · Post by **Fidel Guevara** » 25 Sep 2010 06:04

Ajatshatru wrote:
By defending this mess, you are defending corruption in India (per se).

Lawhoree logic at its finest....

Ajatshatru : FYI, Pakis traits include saying "we can only crawl today, but tomorrow we will be a champion sprinter". Similarly with the whole "we will not only equal, but exceed China very soon." "Germany is a old has-been while we will be the next superpower". I would hope that we see this come true within our lifetimes (that is NOT guaranteed - extrapolation of a current growth trend is just drawing a line on a graph, as the Japanese did 20 years ago)

If somebody criticizes India for having an inflamed ego and inability to take constructive criticism, that is an opinion, and you can choose to either introspect and improve, or just don't give a damn and go on doing what you are doing. Face it, these Games will likely turn out OK (hopefully), but there have been a whole lot of royal screw-ups, corruption and miscommunication along the way, which may put off some investor confidence.

sourab_c · Post by **sourab_c** » 25 Sep 2010 06:05

^ +1 Anant

People here in the west were already very anti-India. India, over the past 2 decades had tried to project a new image of itself as an attractive business destination and a lot of that effort (if not all of it) has gone in vain. Some may find this claim to be a bit exaggerated ;but, people are using this Commonwealth disaster as an opportunity to reinforce their conventional perspectives about India. I will not go into details about what that perspective is. The real trouble is that the same people (mainly small business owners) have traditionally been a major source of investments in India.

The real damage will be apparent in a few years from now.

munna · Post by **munna** » 25 Sep 2010 06:10

Sanjay M you do have a point and a significant one at that. Just one suggestion, no party in Indian lower house has majority and this is representative of a divided India. Not all Indians identify and align themselves to the current regime therefore while addressing citizens please refrain from speaking in generalizations. There is a huge chunk of India that is working day and night to negate politics of patronage and victimhood despite being maligned in the very international media that is stepping on the other foot currently.
Remember there is an India and Indians who despite hard work and significant advances are kicked down and insulted because they refuse to be progressive and internationalist. Please keep them in mind too.

Fidel Guevara · Post by **Fidel Guevara** » 25 Sep 2010 06:12

^^^ Sanjay M, you should be on the satire pages!!

To add, we have also shown the whole world how a true "3rd Most Powerful Nation" should behave - none of that pansy mea culpa practiced in the effete West, here's it's brassknuckled muscular denial of any issues and "we will leave the Commonwealth if you don't attend" counter-strikes! Take that, you old has-been Oiropeans and convict-descendents!! We WILL crap in your beds and washbasins, and you will still HAVE to attend!!!

krisna · Post by **krisna** » 25 Sep 2010 07:33

Road near Vikas Marg caves in

In yet another cause for embarrassment for the Delhi Government, a portion of an arterial road in East Delhi caved in on Friday morning.

when will this end.

Hari Seldon · Post by **Hari Seldon** » 25 Sep 2010 07:37

^^^Oh, great.

Think of all this criticism barrage as another (ego-) bubble bursting only. And reality comes flooding in in it wake. Long overdue only.

End of the day reality is the only arbiter. And the reality is our system as it stands currently -sans any accountability, transparency and responsibility - is not geared to getting things done only.

More the hai-hai, more bitter the medicine now, more the chance that something meaningful and positive may come out of it. Maybe. Let us so hope. Short-term palliatives to sweeten the medicine or dull the pain signal is a short-term fix at best. Only.

Am sad. Despite myself.

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 25 Sep 2010 08:01

^^Hear, hear!
Bubble analogy is a good one, though I hope the stock market isn't too badly affected.

Similar comments from various well-spoken Indian commentators:

http://abclive.in/abclive_sports/cwg/co ... shame.html

vina · Post by **vina** » 25 Sep 2010 08:19

Nice. Yawn.. Chinese style methods being applied now.

Laborers Deported for CWG Clean up

Right. Now the police are going around asking people for id's and if you dont have a New Delhi Id, you are told to scram off. Hmm, who would have thought that in India we would have a Chinese Hou-Kou style system here. Welcome folks. If you want to have govt gargantuanism, you will have govt strong arm methods.

Frankly, this CWG is a disaster on multiple fronts. Time to pull the plug on this and tell the goras to go home.

Between the laborers and slum dwellers and the parasites in Lutyens Delhi , you are better off telling the politicos and babus and monkey hanger ons to go home. Atleast those laborers do some work, the parasites just sit there and suck blood.

JwalaMukhi · Post by **JwalaMukhi** » 25 Sep 2010 08:28

vina wrote: Laborers Deported for CWG Clean up

Right. Now the police are going around asking people for id's and if you dont have a New Delhi Id, you are told to scram off. .

Absolute shame. What's next, all the wimmens who do not match the beauty tastes of CWG Goras will be asked to get plastic surgery within the next few days

Has the Yamuna jal got so contaminated that babus in dilli billi that it has caused their brains to go bonkers? Better to stop digging more when one is in a hole.
Who cares two hoots about CWG. But putting up chinese style lip-sync techniques is a new low. Are the Ministers and officials who cannot compete in beauty contest are being asked to apply leave till CWG is over.

ashi · Post by **ashi** » 25 Sep 2010 08:37

CNN chimes in ...

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/0 ... l?hpt=Sbin

vera_k · Post by **vera_k** » 25 Sep 2010 08:38

The Vibrant XXX jamboree that the NDA states will host in a few months should provide a good barometer of the impact, if any, on investor sentiment.

JwalaMukhi · Post by **JwalaMukhi** » 25 Sep 2010 08:52

CWG ultimately boils down to show biz. With all the advertising, broadcasting rights yada yada.. If one thing that needs to have been managed it has to be PR. PR makes the show biz either click or go deep into dodo land.
Well trying to hide poverty and squalor is worse, because it conveys that the establishment has no real plans to address the poverty and squalor at all. Not now and not even in the future. That's bad.
Phirangis are going to enjoy both the show biz and poverty p0rn. There is no escape to that. Poverty p0rn is much more sensational.

The establishment should let that be, and focus on solving the poverty and treating Indians with respect and dignity. But of course, this ingrained stupidity to impress pirangis by shooting ones own foot is not new. IT VT czar in namma bengaluru refuses to play national anthem, except in instrumental format, then CWG officials want some of Indians to disappear, so pirangis have less access to poverty p0rn.
Wah! pirangis who want to participate and enjoy show biz will do that, and the rest who want to watch poverty p0rn will precisely do that. Why bother?

Carl_T · Post by **Carl_T** » 25 Sep 2010 09:16

I don't think the CWG is really that big of a loss of face for India in the eyes of the world. The games aren't really that big of an event, and I don't think it will hurt India's standing. Those who wanted to find fault will have fun, but with no serious damage done to image. Now the government's loss of face to its own citizens may be another story...

Would a private organization have been able to organize the games with public financing used only for infrastructural upgrades?

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 25 Sep 2010 09:32

vina wrote:Nice. Yawn.. Chinese style methods being applied now.

Laborers Deported for CWG Clean up

Right. Now the police are going around asking people for id's and if you dont have a New Delhi Id, you are told to scram off. Hmm, who would have thought that in India we would have a Chinese Hou-Kou style system here. Welcome folks. If you want to have govt gargantuanism, you will have govt strong arm methods.

Frankly, this CWG is a disaster on multiple fronts. Time to pull the plug on this and tell the goras to go home.

Between the laborers and slum dwellers and the parasites in Lutyens Delhi , you are better off telling the politicos and babus and monkey hanger ons to go home. Atleast those laborers do some work, the parasites just sit there and suck blood.

The non delhi labor is seen as a security issue and no one is willing to risk any thing at this late stage.

Relax with all the doom and gloom opinions.

There are plenty of Indians who want the games to succeed and then go after the @#$% who were responsible.

munna · Post by **munna** » 25 Sep 2010 09:47

From Twitter: Mrityunjoykjha
EMERGENCY services in at least 30 Delhi hospitals r down, 500 doctors have joined CWG duty..leaving patients in spot.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 25 Sep 2010 09:58

We should make a herculean effort to conduct and present the games in an exemplary manner even at this late stage.

Get the goras out as quickly as possible, let the dust settle down and we CRUCIFY the lot of lamers who got us into this mess.

Then we get the hell out of the hijra organisation called commonwealth.

This is a avoidable remnant of the raj and does not do us any good to continue to be associated with such a hobbled grouping.

Added later: First on the hit list should be mani shankar aiyer who frittered away the initial few years of the preparation with his gilli danda ideas and mickey mouse schemes.

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 25 Sep 2010 10:06

Even if the CommonWealth Games were originally not going to be a big media event - I know I certainly am not enough of a sports fan to watch them - the terrible scandal that has now erupted has then made this a big media event, for all the wrong reasons.

On the bright side, Pak will most likely no longer feel motivated to launch terror attacks to spoil the games. After all, why do that when they can watch us hang ourselves with our own rope?
India has done enough damage to itself this time, that Pak need not intervene or attract unwanted scrutiny to itself.

I hope that all the non-Kangress parties seize on the CWG mess to really drive home the message to all voters that Kangress is a crooked millstone around the country's neck. Let the shameless ruling party be surrounded and pilloried until it finally acknowledges blame and repents before the public.

geeth · Post by **geeth** » 25 Sep 2010 10:29

Added later: First on the hit list should be mani shankar aiyer who frittered away the initial few years of the preparation with his gilli danda ideas and mickey mouse schemes.

Yesterday in one of the talk show I watched for a few minutes, he was telling the reason for inaction was due to Kalmadi & Sheila Dixit ; Both of them were stauchly opposing anything and everything initiated by him, saying that the Game is the responsibility of IOC & other paraphernalia and Mani Iyer had nothing to do with it and should not interfere in their work. I don't know how far it is true..If there is some truth in it (since he was subsequently eased out), there could be deep involvement of powers that be in siphoning of funds.

Another thing that he kept on repeating (and nobody countered him) was that the expenditure of the game is about 70,000 Crores and it is 140 TIMES the original estimate. Again, I don't know the truth.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 25 Sep 2010 11:05

Army seems to have been called to make Bailey bridge at the site of footover bridge in five days.
Kudos to Credibility of Army Engineers.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 25 Sep 2010 11:12

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/we-ju ... d/687684/0

We just won the Gold

Shekhar Gupta
Tags : shekhargupta, column
Posted: Sat Sep 25 2010, 09:06 hrs

If you look at bare facts, the end of our most brilliant monsoon in a decade ushers in an even more brilliant sporting season. We won a great Davis Cup tie from 0-2 against Brazil in Chennai this week. The Champions League enters its last-four stage in South Africa. And in another week, an India-Australia series, a rivalry bigger than the Ashes now, begins in Mohali, just around the time the Commonwealth Games, the biggest (even I have become afraid of using the more apt adjective, “greatest”) ever are inaugurated in Delhi. Yet the mood is gloom and doom, recrimination and buck-passing, bitterness and self-pity. Maybe, just maybe, we are missing the point. Maybe India’s favourite sport is neither cricket or hockey or badminton or tennis, nor any of the contact sports (boxing, wrestling) in which we have recently built some medal-winning strength and depth. Maybe it is self-flagellation.

For weeks now, we have played that game with such panache. We love to abuse and curse ourselves. But we are absolutely delirious with joy when foreigners, particularly the white Western nations do it. So every bit of scorn heaped on us and our capital by English and Australian tabloids is now being celebrated as if we have finally been shown our true place in the world. We have neophyte prime minister of Australia more or less predicting (if not wishing) a terror attack in New Delhi, a fact that she forgot to share with her cricket team before it left for India. We have assorted New Zealanders, Welshmen and even Scots turning up their noses. Now we even have the head of the Australian Olympic Committee suggesting the Games should never have been given to New Delhi. And once again, all we do is unquestioningly play these up as if they were certificates of great accomplishment of some sort.

Nobody asked the preening-with-delight Australian Olympic Committee dude who lamented that the Games had to be given to Delhi because the Commonwealth Games Federation was under-funded, why he could not get one of the more “civilised” members of the Commonwealth to save the only thing that reminds their old subjects that such an anachronism still exists. Did we ask the Scotsman who wasn’t sure his contingent would come if he, as the host of the next CGW, was conscious of the consequences if India retaliatated? Maybe because we found his “country” too cold, too wet, too small, whatever (of course we’d never complain about the Scotch)? And does anybody ask the big-mouth Australians if they have given the same advice to their cricketers with the next World Cup being staged in the subcontinent next year? Unless of course, they do not care so much for their lives and limb after their recent performances? Or how come nobody complained when their hockey team lifted the World Cup in New Delhi earlier this year?

You have to be particularly aghast that South Block, which reacts with horror and alarm the moment any Pakistani even scratches his chin looking in our direction, has looked the other way as all this has gone on. Hear the Australian prime minister’s speech again (it continues to be repeated every hour as if it was the nicest compliment somebody sent to India lately), and you will feel the same way. Nobody can guarantee there won’t be a terror attack in India. But can Obama and Cameron guarantee there won’t be one in their countries? Can Julia Gillard guarantee there won’t be one in hers? Her country even sent its troops to fight alongside the Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan.

There has to be a limit to gratuitous, patronising nonsense, but what can you say when you are not willing to draw the line? Or when you seem to enjoy all this abuse so much probably only because you do not like Suresh Kalmadi’s face. The only thing that made you proud this week, and you have to thank Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for it, is that he refused to give time to Mike Fennell who is such a nobody that if you Google his name, the second entry would be about some obscure customer care manager. The high point on his very brief CV is the chairmanship of Air Jamaica. He should be lucky to get time with India’s cabinet secretary, though, if we really wanted him to earn his living, we would confine him for a full working day in a room with our sports minister instead, who will bore him to death describing how he was the finest cricketer/ boxer/athlete, etc, etc, etc, in his twenties when he was also conquering all the mountains that were still left to climb.

Let us not, however, fall in the trap also of blaming the foreigner now. We have to ask ourselves why we love the muck thrown at us so much. Of course we have messed up big time in preparing for the Games, and we must hold our government — at all levels — accountable. This was too important a project for the buck to stop as low as with Kalmadi (and no puns intended). The UPA inherited the successful bid, but never put its heart behind it. It handed over the sports portfolio to a minister who called them evil and wasteful, tried to withdraw and delayed preparations by two years. He is entitled to his view, and who knows he may be right, but if India had decided to host these, how can you explain letting him hold that portfolio for two years? And then you gave it to Gill, who, at 75, justified running the ministry of sports and, hold your breath, youth affairs, by claiming he could get the Games on track. He even earned himself the full cabinet rank for the only reason that it would help him cut the red-tape, so important if we were to get our act together on CGW. But did we? If leading these Games was his main KRA (it could not be winning more medals, or squatting on Indian hockey’s management and throttling that game, which he has done so brilliantly so far), then he needs to be the first to go in the next reshuffle, which better happen soon. A mere reprimand from the prime minister, duly, and deservingly leaked to the media today, is not enough.

The next one is S. Jaipal Reddy, our urban development minister who we all love as a great parliamentarian but who gives a close run to one of his seniormost cabinet colleagues for the gold medal in being indecisive. The truth is, everybody curses Kalmadi, because he looks every bit a usual suspect, and Sheila Dikshit, because she at least has the courage and honesty to be in front and take the rap, but much, in fact most of the responsibility for the construction of the infrastructure and stadiums lay with Gill and Reddy who, so shrewdly, have stayed safely hidden in their bunkers. Most of us have seen that SMS joke about how Kalmadi decided to hang himself in shame but the ceiling collapsed. The fact is that the false ceiling that collapsed was built by Gill’s ministry. Of course you do not expect him to remind you of that.

But let’s return to the larger question. It is one thing for the prime minister to crack the whip now, but why was some of it not done all these years? Could it be that in the post-India Shining disaster mood, the UPA somehow marked out CGW as some kind of an elitist, urban pursuit that did not deserve too much time or attention but, because it was “unavoidable now”, kept throwing money at it? When the prime minister, Sonia Gandhi and other top Congress leaders look back honestly, they may have to admit to themselves that they erred in distancing themselves, and India’s national pride from these games. This is completely contrary to how Indira and Rajiv Gandhi had treated Asiad ‘82. You can’t pull off great acts like these unless you are driven by pride. And it is because we pretended that we were not, that the entire world is laughing at us, as if they have found the devil of realism behind the Great India Story. Yet, why so many of us, particularly in the media seem to enjoy this, still beats me. Postscript: Story goes that telephones were so bad in Indira Gandhi’s times that every now and then she got furious and decided to sack C.M. Stephen, her telecom (then posts and telegraph) minister. But each time she tried to call and fire him, the phone lines were down, and by the time they were restored, her anger had subsided. So Stephen survived. You will be told the one reason Gill and Reddy can’t be dropped right now is that you can’t do it now when the Games are on. And who knows, by the time these end — hopefully brilliantly — the anger with them would have also subsided. Only question is, Indira Gandhi could have survived with one C. M Stephen in her cabinet. Can Manmohan Singh survive with so many?

ss_roy · Post by **ss_roy** » 25 Sep 2010 11:17

It is good to know that some Indian politicos have balls.
----

Critiquing CWG may hit business ties: Anand Sharma tells nations
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Critiquin ... 04352.aspx

Lashing out at nations, particularly Australia, New Zealand, Canada and England, for criticizing India for its handling of the Commonwealth Games, Commerce Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Friday warned that they may have a price to pay in terms of business opportunities in the emerging economy.

"It would be a mistake not to engage with India with respect. When it comes to business, who's loss would it be?" he told the media after meeting his Canadian counterpart Peter Van Loan in Ottawa. Slamming the foreign media for "running a campaign'' against India over its handling of the Games, the minister said, "Dated and frozen images, exaggeration, trying to run down a country is not acceptable to us.'' A visibly angry Sharma said India is an emerging economic power as well as the largest democracy in the world and the Commonwealth.

shyam · Post by **shyam** » 25 Sep 2010 11:33

^^^

Request to all those who claimed that there are serious consequences if we goof up CWG.
Please list them.....

Prasad · Post by **Prasad** » 25 Sep 2010 11:54

Wishing CWG well or not is a persons own choice. But I have absolutely no faith that those who swindled large sums will be removed, prosecuted. When has anyone ever been prosecuted and convicted of scams of such large proportions? The PM shows his head at the nth hour to safeguard PR. If the games are uneventful, it'll be hailed as great work by the govt and congress all round and everyone will forget the huge scams and happily be on their way thinking about the next Rajini movie.

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 25 Sep 2010 12:42

ss_roy, you're praising a bunch of Kaangress Kleptocrats misusing their power to suppress legitimate criticism of their corruption and ineptitude, while endangering ties with useful trading partners?

It isn't the critics of corruption who are running down the country, it is those who practice the corruption to begin with who are running down the country.

I don't know what balls you're thinking of, when you applaud the Kaangress loudmouths as they circle the wagons to defend their little cronyist club.

Canadian and Australian resources are prized all over the world, and there are plenty of other takers - eg. China - should India turn its nose up at them.
Certainly, rulers who intend to keep themselves in power through EVMs naturally feel no pressure to deliver anything to Indian voters, and thus couldn't care less for trading relationships in comparison to defending an imagined divine right to rule.

Whoever is thinking of buying an expensive flat near the mosquito-infested Yamuna is going to think twice about the resale value once they come down with Dengue fever or West Nile virus.

ChandraK · Post by **ChandraK** » 25 Sep 2010 13:38

The event has turned into "Congress (party) Wealth Gathering - CWG" event with the loot going for several generations of the family dynasties and their cronies.

Pathetic situation. With that money thousands of schools and universities could have been built.

biswas · Post by **biswas** » 25 Sep 2010 14:07

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2 ... 1599479507

CWG village pics taken by the Canadian Field Hockey delegation.

jagga · Post by **jagga** » 25 Sep 2010 14:24

chetak wrote:http://www.indianexpress.com/news/we-ju ... d/687684/0

From Chetak's above link

The next one is S. Jaipal Reddy, our urban development minister who we all love as a great parliamentarian but who gives a close run to one of his senior-most cabinet colleagues for the gold medal in indecision. The truth is, everybody curses Kalmadi, because he looks every bit a usual suspect, and Sheila Dikshit, because she at least has both the courage and the compulsion to be in front and take the rap. But much, in fact most, of the responsibility for the construction of the infrastructure and stadiums lay with Gill and Reddy who, so shrewdly, have stayed safely under the radar. And we blame poor bureaucrats for buck-passing. Most of us have seen that SMS joke about how Kalmadi decided to hang himself in shame but the ceiling collapsed. The fact is that the false ceiling that collapsed was built for Gill’s sports ministry by Reddy’s CPWD.

Ahaa At Last!!
Kalmadi and Sheila Dikshit are getting all the blame, fair enough they deserve it.But the biggest culprits are MS GIll, S. Jaipal Reddy, Mani Shankar Ayiar(3 Idiots). These 3 Idiots have done nothing during all these years. If you compare kalmadi and Dikshit's performance with 3 Idiots, even likes of Kalmadi & Dikshit comes as clear winner.
Media has gone after kalmadi and dikshit as a mad dog, but the 3 Idiots havent been taken to task. Hell, Mani Shankar is even getting so much air time with bhurka dutt and company!, As he is innocent onlee.

Added Later:Kalmadi accepts moral responsibility for CWG mess

"Contrary to popular belief that OC had the right to spend Rs 30-40,000 crores on the organisation, we only had Rs 1,600 crore allotted. The rest was taken care by the government and Indian Olympic Association.

^^^ If correct, biggest culprits havent been taken to task