THE ACTING PRESIDENT of the Indian Olympic Association has promised that there is “no question” of the country withdrawing its athletes from next year’s Games in London.
However, Vijay Kumar Malhotra said that the IOA would be contacting organisers to communicate its concerns about Dow Chemical’s £20m sponsorship of the proposed fabric wrap for London’s Olympic Stadium.
Last week, Indian cabinet minister Shivraj Singh Chuahan called for a boycott if organisers failed to repudiate the partnership with Dow, the second-largest chemical manufacturer in the world.
But speaking to the Hindu today, Malhotra moved to downplay fears of an Indian withdrawal.
“There is no question of India boycotting the London Olympics. We are not boycotting Olympic Games and that is very clear on IOA’s part,” he said.
But Malhotra refused to be drawn on whether or not India would request that Dow Chemical’s association with the Games be terminated, indicating that a decision would be taken before the IOA writes to Olympic organisers in the coming days.
In 1999, Dow acquired Union Carbide Limited, the company at the centre of a toxic gas leak which killed thousands in the Indian city of Bhopal in 1984. Dow’s critics hold the company responsible for halting ongoing attempts to decontaminate the region.
According to the BBC, Dow claims it “never owned nor operated the plant and legal claims surrounding the incident were resolved in 1989.”
