Mani Hit The Nail On The Skull
Mani Shankar Aiyar for sure left few folks around sports ministry fuming and red faced with his satire yesterday. Well as per Mani the whole statement was entirely on lighter vein but our news channels yet again picked the wrong end of the stick and made the so called lighter statement a major nuance for debate. The antiques that followed from Suresh Kalmadi is sheer stupidity. I am not sure if he had listened to what Mani had said but wasted no time in attaching Mani with the anti-national tag. Mr.Kalmadi definitely belongs to that dangerous class of people in India who believe, they can tag anyone with anti-national stamp and get away with murder. That's absurd, more so when it is from a senior member of parliament and the head of the so called organizing committee of this mega event.
Even if Mani said this in a funnier light but the grave realty in his words were far too small to ignore. I am no good fan of Mani, but I appreciate his idea of protesting against this mega spending. Over the years I have always seen him opposing this huge spending from the days he himself was the sports minister. My gratitude towards Mani increases whenever I see the huge amount that been spend on this 13 day nonsense and more so even after spending much more than we can afford the preparation is far from being a state standard, let alone world class. A sting operation by Times Now on the preparedness for the event speaks for itself. Scattered construction equipments. Unfinished stair cases all around the stadium. The sporting arena giving a deserted look with digging going all around. Swimming complex installed with those 1960 scoreboard. Least talked about those rain water puddled sprinting tracks (a single scattered Delhi rain did that) which gave more a swimming pool look than anything else is better. Is this how we are gearing up when we are barely left with 60 days to save our face Mr.Kalmadi?
The whole argument that events like these would boost our sporting circle is laughable. Either Mr.Kalmadi is acting funny or he doesn't carry any sense and doesn't know what he is uttering. I am not sure how much the game would boost our sporting circle but for sure it has propelled the bank balance of many crooks for sometime. The whole CWG thing has turned into a heaven for all those corrupt ministers, bureaucrats and whoever to get their hands full with whatever they can take away. This is yet another ploy to loot public money with ease and terming all those as anti-nationals whoever opposes this collective loot. Whenever asked what is the real progress in terms of preparation among these loots, we get to here the same routine narrative - Things are going as per plan and we would be ready by the time the D-Day arrives. Starting from Sheela Dixit to the peon at the CWG organizing committee office, all has to say this one liner. Let me assure you folks - we are not born yesterday and are not in a mood to suck yet another lollipop.
I wish chaps like Kalmadi should visit the interior villages of Sundargarh to see how these adivasies have kept our national game afloat all their own. Trust me there are players who could easily give the likes of Joe Stacy or Take Takema a run for their money on any given day. But raw talent is left to rot and fend for themselves with hand made hockey sticks, let alone all those astro-turfs or other hockey gears and sundry items. You don't need a better example than Deelip Tirckey from one such village. Just wondering how this money could have helped these players if it would have been spend directly on them with providing world class facility and equipment than spending on this 13 day farce. This is the real boost our sporting world needs Mr.Kalmadi, not 42 crore helium balloon showoff at inauguration function. Have you seen Mr.Kalmadi when Dhanraj Pillay cried in front of the camera and vowed not to make his son a hockey player? Have seen Limba Ram staying in the archery foundation's head's garage? Have you seen the asiad medal winning athlete selling chat & Panipuri in the very street named after him in Madhya Pradesh? If you say no, then I don't think you deserve to be the IOA president. For God's sake if you are serious about sports (not just syphoning money), then please take a note of these sports persons. Do you think this mega event is going to boost these sportsmen in any way?
Whether you like it or not Mr.Kalmadi, when you overshoot your budget by fifteen times and end up consuming 35,000 crore of public money, then you very much stand answerable. If terming guys like Mani as anti-nationals, who are trying to unearth the bitter and ugly corruption and money mending going on, behind close doors is your way of defending yourself, then I have no shame in calling myself as anti-national also and wish there would be millions of such unpatriots coming forward demanding an answer. Along with Mani, I would also be grossly disappointed if this game becomes a success and making road for future waste in the name of organizing Asian games or Olympics.. Hope God is listening.
Even if Mani said this in a funnier light but the grave realty in his words were far too small to ignore. I am no good fan of Mani, but I appreciate his idea of protesting against this mega spending. Over the years I have always seen him opposing this huge spending from the days he himself was the sports minister. My gratitude towards Mani increases whenever I see the huge amount that been spend on this 13 day nonsense and more so even after spending much more than we can afford the preparation is far from being a state standard, let alone world class. A sting operation by Times Now on the preparedness for the event speaks for itself. Scattered construction equipments. Unfinished stair cases all around the stadium. The sporting arena giving a deserted look with digging going all around. Swimming complex installed with those 1960 scoreboard. Least talked about those rain water puddled sprinting tracks (a single scattered Delhi rain did that) which gave more a swimming pool look than anything else is better. Is this how we are gearing up when we are barely left with 60 days to save our face Mr.Kalmadi?
The whole argument that events like these would boost our sporting circle is laughable. Either Mr.Kalmadi is acting funny or he doesn't carry any sense and doesn't know what he is uttering. I am not sure how much the game would boost our sporting circle but for sure it has propelled the bank balance of many crooks for sometime. The whole CWG thing has turned into a heaven for all those corrupt ministers, bureaucrats and whoever to get their hands full with whatever they can take away. This is yet another ploy to loot public money with ease and terming all those as anti-nationals whoever opposes this collective loot. Whenever asked what is the real progress in terms of preparation among these loots, we get to here the same routine narrative - Things are going as per plan and we would be ready by the time the D-Day arrives. Starting from Sheela Dixit to the peon at the CWG organizing committee office, all has to say this one liner. Let me assure you folks - we are not born yesterday and are not in a mood to suck yet another lollipop.
I wish chaps like Kalmadi should visit the interior villages of Sundargarh to see how these adivasies have kept our national game afloat all their own. Trust me there are players who could easily give the likes of Joe Stacy or Take Takema a run for their money on any given day. But raw talent is left to rot and fend for themselves with hand made hockey sticks, let alone all those astro-turfs or other hockey gears and sundry items. You don't need a better example than Deelip Tirckey from one such village. Just wondering how this money could have helped these players if it would have been spend directly on them with providing world class facility and equipment than spending on this 13 day farce. This is the real boost our sporting world needs Mr.Kalmadi, not 42 crore helium balloon showoff at inauguration function. Have you seen Mr.Kalmadi when Dhanraj Pillay cried in front of the camera and vowed not to make his son a hockey player? Have seen Limba Ram staying in the archery foundation's head's garage? Have you seen the asiad medal winning athlete selling chat & Panipuri in the very street named after him in Madhya Pradesh? If you say no, then I don't think you deserve to be the IOA president. For God's sake if you are serious about sports (not just syphoning money), then please take a note of these sports persons. Do you think this mega event is going to boost these sportsmen in any way?
Whether you like it or not Mr.Kalmadi, when you overshoot your budget by fifteen times and end up consuming 35,000 crore of public money, then you very much stand answerable. If terming guys like Mani as anti-nationals, who are trying to unearth the bitter and ugly corruption and money mending going on, behind close doors is your way of defending yourself, then I have no shame in calling myself as anti-national also and wish there would be millions of such unpatriots coming forward demanding an answer. Along with Mani, I would also be grossly disappointed if this game becomes a success and making road for future waste in the name of organizing Asian games or Olympics.. Hope God is listening.
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