Spectators showed no mercy to the OC chairman

Kalmadi booed

Spectators showed no mercy to the OC chairman

It was a thanksgiving speech Suresh Kalmadi must have wished he did not deliver. While he was showering praise on Mike Fennell, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his cabinet of ministers, the crowd booed him.

Kalmadi, who was held responsible for corruption and work delays, was also jeered during his speech in the opening ceremony.

When it was announced that Kalmadi would make a speech, the capacity crowd at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium went silent for a while and as soon as the OC chief took over the mike, they started booing him.
There was huge boo from the crowd when Kalmadi thanked his close aide Lalit Bhanot.

Rumu Sen, a spectator, said: "We are really proud of our country. India has done tremendously well and stood second. But Kalmadi should have no reason to take any credit. He has done nothing but wasted our money. Now that the Games are over, we want an inquiry into the scams he is part of."u00a0

"Everyone said this is the best Games Village they have seen so far. The athletes from foreign land came as friends and are returning as families. The city of Delhi has advanced by 10 years and the Games have bound the country," Kalmadi said in his speech.

About the criticism he faced regarding the organisation of the Games, Kalmadi quoted Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and said: "Success doesn't come without setbacks." However, there were hardly any takers among the crowd for his philosophy. Kalmadi, in his speech, also claimed that CWG 2010 was the "most watched and enjoyed Games ever."

"The country's pride was at stake and the citizens of Delhi wanted to make it a success. Mr. Kalmadi should not forget this. So we jeered every time his name was taken, so that there shouldn't be any confusion in his mind," said another spectator, Rajeev Sinha.

Kalmadi got some cheer when he thanked Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party general secretary Rahul Gandhi for "coming to watch our athletes perform and sit in the stands rather than VIP galleries to boost their morale." But this apparently did not go down well with the Gandhi family, evident from their reaction to their names being mentioned by the OC chairman.

More Goof UPS

The OC Chairman's tryst with goof-ups continued on Thursday when he mentioned the name of former Mayor Kanwar Sain while thanking the first citizen of Delhi. Kalmadi conveyed his "special thanks to Delhi Mayor Kanwar Sain" during his speech at the closing ceremony instead of the incumbent Prithviraj Sawhney.
Earlier, at the opening ceremony on October 3, he had addressed former President A P J Abdul Kalam as Abdul Kalam Azad. His next faux pas was at the first press conference on October 5 when he said "Prince Diana" attended the event's opening ceremony.

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