Vikram VermaUnion minister for sports Vikram Verma spoke to Editor Prabhu Chawla on Seedhi Baat on his new charge and his predecessor.Q. Did you go to see the cricket World Cup in South Africa? A.Yes. I went to Johannesburg for three days.Q. But you don't have time for Sunita Rani. Why is cricket given so much importance? A. I carried the letter the prime minister had written to the cricket team. Besides, I was also there in Busan for the Asian Games.Q. No, you weren't there at the second ceremony when Suresh Kalmadi presented the medals to Sunita Rani. A. I was present, but it is the Olympic Association of India's decision to invite people. They decide the list of invitees.Q. How much are you planning to spend on sports promotion? A.We have increased the budget allocation for sports from Rs 285 crore to Rs 386 crore, out of which we are planning to spend Rs 200-250 crore on promotion. We are also planning to host the Commonwealth Games.Q. Why not the Olympics? Uma Bharati had suggested it. A.We do not have the infrastructure for the Olympic Games. We are not ready for it yet.Q. According to you, is Uma Bharati in the race for the chief ministership of Madhya Pradesh? A.There is no candidate as such for the chief minister's seat. At a rally, L.K. Advani and Venkaiah Naidu announced that the elections would be conducted under Uma's supervision.Q. Will you accept Uma Bharati as chief minister? A.Whatever the party decides, we will accept.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Apr 14, 2003 00:00 IST--- ENDS ---
