So Commonwealth games are over. As expected both the inaugural and closing ceremonies stole the attention of the whole Common- wealth. We saw and heard the curtains came down on the XIXth Commonwealth Games in New Delhi with a spectacular closing ceremony which has drawn unparalleled applause from across the world. Martial arts, schoolchildren dancing to the tune of Indian National Song – Vande Matram, popular Bollywood hits and a laser show took centre stage in front of a 65,000-strong audience at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Thursday.
India showed that this India is not the India of the past. The youth of India who have been exposed to the world stage, have shown that they belong to a generation who can herald to the world that India has come. Our athletes have shown to the world that we are a great nation and not the one as the West attempted to jeer at us for the fiasco created by Organizing Committee. The Commonwealth world was stunned to see India standing shoulder to shoulder, nay a step higher to England in medals tally. None of the adversities such as corruption, bad publicity to the games, projecting India in a bad light etc. dampened their resolve to exhibit their best in the games. It showed the resilience of Indian Youth who gave their best to hold the national flag high. As many as 30 times the national anthem was played in the venue of the games. One could see the exuberance beaming from the faces of our athletes. How proud the onlookers felt when their national flag was raised and the national anthem was played. That was a scene one should only see to believe it. One could see a subtle smile on the faces of Indians who were watching the TV irrespective of age and could hear them humming the national anthem along with the hoisting of the flag. These games thus brought the whole country together and it redefined India as one nation. A nation which can go a long way in it’s quest for a high place in the comity of nations. It has already taken a vantage place in the IT world.
So be it. Now time has come for this nation to know how the tax money of aam aadmi has been used for the games. Accountability is very important now. Let us not forget the accountability issue in the din of accolades that the country is receiving from one and all. The games became a success for various reasons. Bu that does not mean that the Commonwealth Games should make it’s wealth common among its organizers. The whole country is now waiting to see how the money was spent and the officials if found guilty, are asked to account for the same.
It appears as though no one is aware of the total amount spent on the games. That is what one could make out from this report. .
Various ministries and agencies had quoted different numbers and from different sources, which vastly disagreed with each other. Sports Minister M S Gill had said the Games would cost Rs 11,494 crore, but the Urban Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy said the figure is Rs 28,054 crore.. The Ministry of Tourism had estimated the same at Rs 87,500 crore, and whereas the Games Organising Committee (OC) Director General had put it as Rs 10,000 crore at various times. This showed that in the name of upholding the prestige of India high, money must have been spent like the flow of water in the river Ganges. One can quote one instance which the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India had pointed out how Team Kalmadi had faulted just a couple of months ago for spending close to 5 crores to renovate the office of the Indian Olympic Committee (IOC) in South Delhi – an office which the Games’ organizers occupied for just a few months.
Let us hope that the Government of India will subject the entire expenditure incurred on the games to scrutiny and do justice to aam aadmi. It should look into how the balance between the cost and quality has been maintained and whether there has been any cost overrun and if so, they should follow the same and punish the guilty.