Kalmadi hits back at Aiyar over CWG remarks

Zeenews Bureau New Delhi: Indian Olympic Association chief Suresh Kalmadi slammed former Sports Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar for his outspoken comments regarding the forthcoming Commonwealth Games to be in October this year. Kalmadi said that the stadiums for the extravagant Games would not have been ready had Aiyar been the Sports Minister. Aiyar, earlier in the day said, he would be “unhappy” if the Commonwealth Games were a success and that only “evil” will patronise them, remarks which were quickly dismissed by both his party and the BJP. “I am delighted in a way because rains are causing difficulties for the Commonwealth Games. Basically, I will be very unhappy, if the Games are successful because then they will start bringing Asian Games, Olympic Games and all these,” the former union sports minister told reporters outside Parliament House. The Rajya Sabha MP Aiyar lashed out at the massive expenditure being incurred for the October event. “Those who are patronising the Games can only be evil. They cannot be God,” Aiyar, a known critic of the Games who has vent his ire often in the past, said. He said instead of spending a whopping Rs 35,000 crore on the Games, the money should have been spent on children. “Thousands of crores are being spent on circuses like these while the common children are being deprived of basic facilities to play,” Aiyar said, adding all “expectations” from the Games had been belied.