Mani Shankar Iyer
New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar on Thursday recalled his differences with Suresh Kalmadi, chairman of the Commonwealth Games of Commonwealth Games, and said that the 2010 Commonwealth Games finally “National Sharm”. Ended as Iyer made this comment on the occasion of the release of his book ‘A. Meveric in Politics’.
The Congress leader told about his journey in politics in this program. Iyer admitted that the former Prime Minister was Rajiv Gandhi who brought him into politics from the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), but it was Sonia Gandhi who enabled him to climb the ladder of politics. In a conversation with senior journalist Veer Sanghvi, Iyer recalled his tenure as Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Panchayati Raj, Youth Affairs and Sports and North Election Development at various times during the first term of the UPA government.
Iyer was not happy with withdrawing the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas
Talking about his tenure as Sports Minister from January 2006 to April 2008, Iyer admitted that he was not very happy that he was taken by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and handed over him to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. given. On taking over as the Sports Minister, Iyer said that he came to know that he was not going to organize the Commonwealth Games. He said, “All Sports Federations are under the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). All the federations are led by politicians who only raise their stomachs. The federation is very rich and enjoy.”
Frequency with Kalmadi
He also said that no attempt was made on his behalf to search and refine talent. He said, “Within minutes of reaching my office (as Sports Minister) at Shastri Bhavan, two principal assistants of Suresh Kalmadi came to meet me and used a language that was suitable for Doon School toilets. He called Suresh Kalmadi bad. Then my secretary started telling me that the problem with the Commonwealth Games is that the Ministry has to release thousands of crores of rupees to the organizing committee, but the organizing committee is refusing to give us utility certificate (UC), which all ‘which’ Babugiri is the basis of ‘. “
Kalmadi adamant on not giving UC
He said that these UCs are needed before the next installment is released. Iyer said, “I tried to contact my predecessors. Prithviraj Chavan came to me in the central room of Parliament and said, ‘If you do not take UC from Kalmadi, then you will be caught in a lot of trouble.’ I said that you were a minister before me, why didn’t you take UC from him? ” Iyer said that Chavan, citing the politics of Maharashtra, said that he could not insist on it. The former Union Minister said that he had called a meeting which included Kalmadi but he (Kalmadi) was adamant that he would not give UC.
Sonia started laughing when she blossomed
Iyer remembered, “Then I told him,” Suresh, I have no desire to share a closet with you in Tihar Jail “and ‘If I did not go to Tihar Jail, I am a chocolate cake for you in jail Do not even want to bring ‘. ” The former Sports Minister said that Kalmadi went directly to Congress President Sonia Gandhi and told him that Iyer had made this comment in front of his subordinates. Iyer said, “He (Gandhi) asked me if I had said so. I was surprised that she knew all this, so I looked at her, not knowing what she would react really, and then she started laughing. So I felt that it was fine. ” (With language inputs)
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