PANJIM: As Goa falters on the race to host the 36th edition of the National Games 2018 in time and seeks a postponement till February 2019, Congress has demanded that Sports Minister Manohar Azgoankar step down from the post accepting moral responsibility over the failure to create the required infrastructure to host the Games.
Addressing media persons on Thursday, Congress spokesperson Sankalp Amonkar stated that during the recent meeting with Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) executive council in New Delhi, the State government delegation sought postponement of the games, which were due to take place from November 4 to 18, this year.
“Goa was selected as host for 36th National Games in 2014. Four years down the line, the carless attitude of the government and the Sports Minister has been exposed. Goa has been put to shame. The State has become a laughing stock on the national platform. We have miserably failed to create the required infrastructure and hence have sought postponement of Games to February 2019,” Amonkar said.
He stated that IOA has warned that if Goa fails to host the national games this year, then there is rare possibility of allowing it to postponed, as the schedule of the games for 2019, 2020 and later would be affected. “Under such a situation, the National Games will have to be cancelled. Goa will miss a golden opportunity of promoting itself as a sporting destination,” Congress leader said.
Amonkar demanded that either the Chief Minister sack Azgaonkar or the minister step down accepting moral responsibility for the failure. “We demand that the government ensure that the National Games are neither cancelled nor postponed,” he stated.
