In an exclusive interview to MiD DAY, just hours before curtains came down on the XIX Commonwealth Games, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said all the bad press helped her

Her fans may say she made the Commonwealth Games a spectacular success, her detractors may blame her for not getting Delhi ready on time for the Games, the press may paint her grey for allowing the Games organisers to create all sorts of problems for Delhiites.


Pic/Rajeev Tyagi

But Sheila Dikshit is unruffled. In a free-wheeling interview to MiD DAY just before the closing ceremony of the 19th Commonwealth Games, Dikshit said she is now ready to hoist the Olympics flag in Delhi.

Q. How was the Commonwealth Games experience?
Initially, for two months before the Games there were doubts and skepticism. It was a difficult time because somehow nobody was convinced that Delhi would be able to pull it through. The whole world was pointing fingers at us. The local press gave us a very hard time too. But all that criticism motivated us to do better. And we have been successful in organising one of the best and biggest Commonwealth Games.