THE UGLY fracas witnessed on telly between Commonwealth Games Organising Committee secretary general Lalit Bhanot telling a wired CEO Mike Hopper to leave the premises was a shocker. The bust up saw Bhanot asking Hooper not to give interviews to media in the CWG HQ.
Instead he could speak to them at his residence. Which, Suresh Kalmadi a couple of days earlier had reminded all and sundry, was also being paid for by the OC. Kalmadi and Bhanot want Hooper ousted, but Commonwealth Games Federation Mike Fennell will have nothing of it. The entire preparation of the CWG has turned into a bit of a sham and Hooper is not running away from the fight. Hooper is believed to be a bit of an abrasive character who wants things to be done in a particular manner. Kalmadi and Bhanot want to do it their way. So, east is east and west and west, never the twain shall meet.
But the imbroglio has to be dealt with for the nation’s prestige is at stake. In any case, the pace of progress is extremely slow despite a slew of assurances given to the delegates when they turned up for the General Assembly. The schism between Kalmadi and Hooper is not helping. Sports minister MS Gill appears helpless and powerless when he says that he will broker peace between the two when he sits down with Fennell and Kalmadi later this month in London. But the tryst in London may well be another attempt to paper over what has become a big embarrassment for the Indian government.
Large dollops of money have been sunk into Games related infrastructure in the capital. Every week one hears of a fresh sum of money being allocated, but the reality is that there appears to be no real coordination between the multiple players and agencies in charge of putting the developmental plan in place.
Soon the time will come when organisers will be able to run, but not hide because the clock is ticking. Almost six years ago in November 2003 at Montego Bay, India pipped Canadian city Hamilton to win the hosting rights. But not before it ‘bribed’ the 70 odd nations by promising them $ 100,000 each towards preparation of athletes for the CWG. The sum totalling $ 7.2 million was nothing but a bribe and it tilted the scales in favour of Delhi then. Mind you, it was practically a last minute offer made by the Indian Olympic Association, earning the right to host the games 46 vs 22 votes in a secret ballot. The Canadians were furious at losing the event and it was only the third time after Jamaica and Kuala Lumpur that the CWG was being hosted in a non developed world nation.
But what have we done in the last six years? Deep in the arms of Morpheus, we have waited virtually till the last moment to work ourselves into a frenzy over the Games. 31 March, 2010 is the next date that everyone is looking at as far as completion of facilities is concerned. Sadly, this confrontation between Kalmadi and Hooper is not earning India any brownie points. Interestingly, this has happened immediately after the conclusion of the General Assembly. I can’t understand why Kalmadi who tried his best to sanitise all venues during the visit of the delegates by keeping media as far away as possible from them should choose to broach the Hooper subject after their departure.
Why did Kalmadi not take up the Hooper issue with Fennell when he was here in the capital? Why did he wait for this showdown. Insiders tell me that Hooper is not liked by the OC, but insiders tell me horror stories about several other key functionaries within the OC. Hooper is a no nonsense type of guy and the OC has obviously decided to close ranks against the interloper. When Gill says that he will broker peace between the warring parties in London, pray how does he intend doing this? In all this brouhaha, everyone seems to have forgotten that the unified Hockey India elections were to be held in October. We are waiting Mr Kalmadi.
Inner Congress party clamour for the appointment of Rahul Gandhi to oversee the development of CWG infrastructure has gone up a notch or two in the light of this Kalmadi-Hooper fiasco. SportzPower was the first to ask for this move so that the nation’s prestige could remain intact. India cannot afford any slip ups from hereon on the CWG front.
The fact that Jarnail Singh, formerly in the PMO, has been designated CEO of the OC is a sign of the times. It is clear that the government is seized of this matter. Three more senior officials are to be sent to the OC, including a chief financial officer for better management and organisation. This is likely in the next few days. Delinking IOA from the OC would have been the right way of going about things. Now it is too late unless Rahul Gandhi is pressed into the breach. The IOA’s track record is pathetic, to hand over an event of such magnitude was a judgmental error.
The IOA has been run like a private fiefdom by Kalmadi, he needs to understand that the CWGOC is not the same. The OC is about delivering the Commonwelath Games. Yes, there are multiple players and agencies involved, but that is precisely why one needed a professional management team to oversee every single subset of what is turning out to be a complex Games. Even now, the PMO and the government can exercise their right to install a Rahul Gandhi type of figure who can get the best out of everyone. A person of authority, a person whose persona is not challenged, a person who can push the limits.
New frontiers and new friendships was the theme that the IOA used in Monetgo Bay to win the hosting rights. Now is the time to test that catchline. But it has to be done in double quick time.
