NEW DELHI, Sept 22 (IANS) - Admitting that the nation's pride was at stake following complaints about preparations for the Commonwealth Games (CWG), the Congress Wednesday said that every effort would be made to ensure that the event is successful.
Party spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi said there was no doubt that the "civil society and political class were deeply concerned" about the preparations for the Games.
“The nation's pride, prestige are at stake. Every possible sinew will be strained to ensure that we come out with flying colours in this test of India's ability to hold the event," he said.
Singhvi said that smallest lacuna will be plugged and called upon the media not to pre-judge and damn the Games.
He said that responsibility would be fixed for lapses but the immediate task was to conduct the Games in a befitting manner.
"I think there are problems. Blame has to be fixed and it will not be forgotten. The need of the hour is to tighten our belts and show that outstanding Games are held. Every limb of the government is working towards this... I have no doubt that every stakeholder is moving in the right direction," Singhvi said.
A portion of a false ceiling at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the main venue of the Commonwealth Games, collapsed Wednesday, a day after a foot overbridge near the stadium came crashing down.
Though there were no injuries Wednesday, the mishap adds to the huge embarrassment the Games Organising Committee has been facing in the run up to the Games, only 11 days away. The collapse of foot overbridge Tuesday injured 27 labourers.
Several foreign contingents have complained about the state of the Games village, with some labelling conditions as "filthy and unlivable".
Some 7,000 participants and officials from 71 countries and territories are expected to attend the Oct 3-14 Commonwealth Games, India's biggest sporting event after the 1982 Asian Games.
