New Delhi: Indian sports ministry has asked the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to drop Dow Chemicals as the sponsor of London Olympics. Dow Chemicals owns Union Carbide, the company which was responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy in 1984. Indian Olympic Association (IOA) have been trying to convince IOC but has failed, this resulted in the Indian government getting involved in the matter.
Indian sports ministry in a letter to IOC President Jacques Rogge wrote, "We cherish and celebrate the noble ideals of the Olympic movement. India stands firmly committed to these ideals and the values they promote of friendship, unity, brotherhood and compassion."
"We strongly believe that there is no better medium than sports to inculcate and foster the feeling of friendship and solidarity among the people of the world. This being so we are dismayed that the IOC has not respected the sentiments of a large group of stakeholders including Olympians and withdrawn its association with Dow Chemicals," said the letter signed by Rahul Bhatnagar, joint secretary in the ministry.
The ministry said the IOC should cancel the sponsorship deal for the sake of the ideals of human rights as thousands had lost their lives in the tragedy and several more continue to suffer the after-effects.
"The Government of India would therefore strongly urge the IOC to go beyond lesser considerations and in the larger interest of the ideals of human rights, compassion and solidarity, immediately take steps to cancel the sponsorship of Dow Chemicals for the London Olympics thereby apart from assuaging the feelings of millions of people, send a strong message to the world over, for upholding the noble ideals of the Olympic movement," the ministry's letter said.
By Indian Sports News
