Commonwealth or Their Common Wealth…?

Every nation has a right to show case its cultural heritage, affluence, and enriched present before the world. Every nation has a right to invite the world to its doorstep and let the world have glimpses of the nation’s progress and development. Every nation has a right to hold international events and bring her national pride to the international level. Every nation wows to astonish the world by manifesting her integrity, strength, vision, multidimensional existence and glittering extravagant capability to hold high magnitude extravaganza. And for such pleasure and pride every nation wishes to hold international mega events. India, being no exception, is going to hold an international mega sports event- the Commonwealth Games-2010. Delhi, being the venue, is under preparation for the event. We all know this and; are yet to know many more things beside our national pride.

Wait, the Games are to be held in October itself and still a lot of works is unfinished. And to add more to it, there are allegations after allegations on the organizing committee on which they are declining to comment with responsibility. It’s a mammoth event and mammoth event brings in even more mammoth opportunity to score in the field of money. According to the allegations, it is evident that a high scale, no, monster scale corruption has taken place. It is as if it were a Common Wealth for the organizers. The Commonwealth Games has brought them Common Wealth which they are sharing commonly.

Over payment, hiring equipments and things at a higher price than the product’s buying price, unfinished stadia, completed works seeming incomplete or sickly completed, leaking roofs, piles of garbage and raw materials all around, opening gate for agencies to make money without doing anything; these and many more things are brought to public attention and yet no concrete actions are seen imminent. The wrong doers are in a no worry state.They have taken it for granted that whatever they do, there will be easy escapades for them; and more importantly they will be saved by their saviours.

A Common man’s wealth has become Common Wealth for the Commonwealth Games organizers. No accountability is fixed, no legal actions are taking place only escape game is being played and yet our government tells that it will be investigated, let the games be finished first. What sort of justice is this? In this country a layman is accused of a theft of bizarre amount and FIR is registered against him and legal actions are on the trot but someone evidently does a monstrous scam and the government says it will be investigated later on. I mean, why wait when we have proofs? What is holding the government on the back foot? Note it down that the Games will be a success as we Indians are good at ‘lipa poti’, everything will be covered or pretended to be covered at the time of games and with the glitters and glamour involved in it, it will be shown that the games are a huge success and the credit goes to the committee. Then, they will also blame media and whistle blowers of defaming the committee and ask for a probe against them… and the nation will forget it or if at all any investigative committee is set, it will take such time to investigate and to come to foolish conclusions that the culprits would have either left the world or will be on the verge of leaving it. Once again justice will be denied. What sort of system are we having? You clearly see the wrong doings happening all around and wrong doers are before you and still you want to wait? What sort of message are we conveying to our people and the world? Do we not have ethics? Have we lost our conscience?

These bastards have defamed India and brought our pride down; they must be punished soon and severely. Kalmadi & Co. should be labeled 'Kalmuyi' (in Hindi) & Co.

In the games, whether we win medals or not, these rotten eggs are surely in a race to win maximum number of gold through scam. And they will certainly win with world records.
Whose Common Wealth is it, ours or theirs? And that’s why I say it’s not commonwealth games but their Common Wealth making games which they are making and sharing.
Can we hope for strict action? Who said no...?

Extremely agonized,
Kalpesh Bhatt