Congress disapproves of Aiyar-Kalmadi spat over Commonwealth Games

The Congress today disapproved of the public sparring between Mani Shankar Aiyar and Suresh Kalmadi over the Commonwealth Games, saying senior leaders of the party should speak responsibly when they reply to any issue in public.

"Seniority subsumes a certain sense of responsibility and we hope that those who are in senior position would honour the sense of discretion when they speak in public on any issue," Party spokesperson Manish Tewari told reporters at the AICC briefing here.

He was replying to a volley of questions on the fresh controversy that kicked off with Aiyar's comments yesterday that he would be "unhappy" if the Games became successful, inviting a strong reaction from Kalmadi, the Indian Olympic Association chief.

The party spokesperson termed Aiyar's remarks as a "personal opinion" made by a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha, when asked whether the party's directive to leaders not to speak out of turn and speak only on their areas of responsibility was not violated.

Tewari stressed that the government is "leaving no stone unturned" to see that the Games are a success and "it's a matter of prestige" for the country to host the event.

Asked about the delay in the completion of preparations for the Games, Tewari said, "Since we have undertaken an international commitment, we need to ensure that it is done speedily. If the Games are not successful, it will not reflect on anyone individual but the honour of the nation."

To a query about leakage in some of the stadiums, the spokesperson said, "It's a matter of concern" and added the games have to be completed successfully and deficiencies, if any, have to be corrected.

"If at all any post-mortem is to be done, it can be done after the Games are over," he said.