London, Nov 3 : The organising committee of the London Olympic Games is facing questions over why it has named the controversial Dow Chemicals company, which is responsible for Bhopal gas tragedy, as a sponsor of the 2012 stadium in London.
Dow is the 100 percent owner of Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), the company that was responsible for the 1984 gas disaster in Bhopal that killed nearly 25,000 people. It has been named as the sponsor the seven million pounds fabric curtain that will encircle the Olympic Stadium.
According to the Independent, the shadow Olympics minister, Tessa Jowell, and the chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, Keith Vaz, held private talks with Lord Coe, who was asked to justify the deal with the Dow Chemical Company.
Dow officials would be invited to attend further talks next week as Lord Coe failed to satisfy MPs that Dow does meet London 2012’s ethical code, the report said.
Vaz said that Dow must withdraw until the issues in Bhopal get resolved.
“The best course of action is for Dow to withdraw until the issues in Bhopal have been resolved, but I am happy to hear what they have to say,” Vaz said.
“This is not the right kind of sponsorship for the world''s greenest Olympics,” he added.
The meeting came amid growing pressure from a cross-party campaign to make Locog reverse its decision.
Barry Gardiner MP, chair of Labour Friends of India, urged the organizing committee to think again over the decision in order to protect the reputation of the Olympic legacy for Britain
“Its failure to take the victims of Bhopal and ongoing contamination into account is particularly ironic given the UK Government had to spend 12.7 million pounds cleaning up the Olympic site, which was ''grossly contaminated'' by toxic waste,” Gardiner added. (ANI)
Similar
- Botham urges London court to make Pak trio examples to stop match-fixing
- Two Iranian footballers suspended for ‘shameless buttock squeezing’ goal celebration
- ‘Massa could have avoided Hamilton crash at inaugural Indian F1 Grand Prix’
- Bernie Ecclestone bans daughter from using F1 footage in reality show
- ‘Pak spot fixing’ agent’s texts show connection with fixers in Dubai, India and Britain

Moscow, June 20 : Russia's national football team coach Fabio Capello is not going to cancel his contract as some media have suggested, the Russian Football Union (RFS) said.
Fortaleza (Brazil), June 20 : Neymar scored a goal and set up another as Brazil overcame Mexico 2-0 and secured their place in the FIFA Confederations Cup semi-finals.
Cardiff, June 20 : India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bowl against Sri Lanka in the second semi-final of the Champions Trophy at the Sophia Gardens here Thursday.
Cardiff, June 19 : Former captain Sanath Jayasuriya said Sri Lanka will target the Indian bowlers during the Champions Trophy semifinal slated for Thursday at the Sophia Gardens here.
Le Mans (France), June 20 : Indian racing driver Karun Chandhok and his team Murphy Prototypes were ninth fastest in LMP2 class and 17th overall on the first day of qualifying practice at the La Sarthe
Misano (Italy), June 17 : Both Mahindra Racing riders Andrea Locatelli and Michael Rinaldi performed well in Rounds 5 and 6 of the CIV Moto3 which concluded at the Misano World Circuit here.