Games organisers rev up after PM’s tough talk

NEW DELHI - Two days after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called for “single-minded” devotion to make the Commonwealth Games a grand success, the Organising Committee vowed to hold a “great” event.

“We are in the last lap of preparations. With 30 days to go for the opening of the Games Village and 48 days for the Games, we are confident of having a great Games,” Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi said here.

He spoke at a function at which Oscar winner A.R. Rahman was to have provided a sneak peak of the theme song he has composed for the Oct 3-14 event.

That was deferred as Rahman said he had been asked to tweak the song and it would not be proper to release it before that was done.

Kalmadi recalled that the prime minister had in his Independence Day speech called upon the people to make the Games a “national festival”. “We will have a great Games and a great festival,” Kalmadi asserted.

On Monday evening, Committee vice chairman Randhir Singh and secretary general Lalit Bhanot briefed the media about the progress in the works at the Games venues.

“We are confident of the venues being readied in time,” said Randhir Singh.

The Committee’s steps to get its act together came after Manmohan Singh asked ministers and officials Saturday to “work single-mindedly” to ensure that the Games “could be held in a manner the nation could be proud of”.

Admitting “there had been slippages in the time schedule of some of the construction works,” Manmohan Singh said: “It is important to gain public confidence by instilling order and carrying out effective supervision of pending works.”

Manmohan Singh will involve himself more with the Games perparations after the parliament session ends Aug 31, official sources said.

Accompanied by United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chief Sonia Gandhi, he will also visit the Games venues this month-end.

In an image-makover move, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi is also expected to be associated with the last leg of the Games preparations, the sources said.

There will be daily briefings about the progress in the arrangements for the Games. Noted personalities involved with the Games would attend these briefings.

This apart, the Group of Ministers headed by Urban Development Minister S. Jaipal Reddy is likely to meet daily to monitor the progress and iron out glitches.

Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrashekhar has been directed to liaise closely with the ministers to ensure coordination among all the authorities.

Rahman said the theme song, “Oh yaaro, India ne bulaya liya” (Oh friends, India has called you)”, would be dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi.

Rahman said he himself would be the lead singer for what would be the last item at the opening ceremony.

“The song is about India, about energy, winning and not giving up. We want the crowd to sing along with us at the opening ceremony. It is simple but not simplistic,” he said.

The song is already generating business interest.

“We are waiting for the CDs. It may be a instant chart-topper,” said Vijay Malhotra, a shop owner in Delhi’s Connaught Place business district.

Urging the media and people to “project a positive image of the Games”, Rahman said: “A lot of people have done great work for the Games.” He said the Games should be considered a matter of national prestige.

The preparations by the Organising Committee have not only drawn sharp criticism from opposition parties, but the Congress distanced itself from Kalmadi, who has come under criticism over alleged corruption.

Following an internal probe, the Committee suspended its officials T.S. Darbari, Sanjay Mahendroo and M. Jayachandran, whose names featured in the irregularities related to the Queen’s Baton Relay.

Treasurer Anil Khanna also resigned in the wake of allegations that his son’s firm secured the contract for laying synthetic courts at the R.K. Khanna Tennis Stadium.

–Indo-Asian News Service

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The GoM chaired by Urban Development Minister S.Jaipal Reddy met for the first time Sunday after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh intervened to take stock of the much-criticised preparations for the Oct 3-14 Games.

The three-hour long GoM meeting also discussed other details related to the opening ceremony besides giving approval to the theme song composed by