Sports Ministry to Olympic czars: Why include Dow?
The Sports Ministry has asked the Indian Olympic Association to raise the issue of Bhopal-tragedy tainted Dow's sponsorship of the London Olympic Games.
- NDTVSports
- Updated: December 05, 2011 01:25 PM IST
The Sports Ministry today has written a letter to the Indian Olympic Association asking them to raise the issue of Bhopal-tragedy tainted Dow's sponsorship of the London Olympic Games.
The letter says, the matter of Dow's liability, in respect of the Bhopal Gas tragedy victims is sub-judice, and the Government of India has itself filed a law suit against Dow.
Dow Chemical, which is one of the sponsors of the London 2012 Olympics, is a US company linked to the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, in which over 15000 people died while many were mutilated.
Ever since the Dow Chemical was named as a sponsor of the London Olympics, the victims of the tragedy have been demanding that India pull out of the Games.
The IOA said on Monday that it will convey the concerns of the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy, former Olympians and others to organisers of the 2012 London Games regarding its sponsorship deal with Dow Chemical.
"We will try to make Games Organisers aware of the feeling of the people who have suffered due to that tragedy. It is not only the Indians who are protesting this sponsorship, there has been an outcry against this world over from various NGO's and other bodies, it is no longer a local issue", IOA president Vijay Kumar Malhotra said in a statement.
"IOA is bound by the Olympic charter and we will play our role within the frame work of this charter," Malhotra added.
Dow Chemical, which is sponsoring a fabric shroud to be installed on the Olympic Stadium, however, had said that all liabilities over the disaster have been resolved.
Last week, Malhotra had told AFP that India would not pull out of the Games over the deal with Dow Chemical. "The IOA will not boycott the Olympics. Such a thing has not been discussed," Malhotra had said.
Dow is one of the world partners for the Olympics till the Games in Rio in 2020.
London Olympic chief Sebastian Coe had defended the Dow Chemical sponsorship deal but Labour politician Ken Livingstone, who was mayor of London when the city won the right to host the Games, has urged a rethink.