IOA to lodge strong protest to IOC over Dow's Oly association

New Delhi, Dec 15 (PTI) The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has unanimously decided to lodge a "strong protest" with the 2012 London Olympics organisers and the IOC, seeking removal of Dow Chemical as a sponsor of the Games but said it would not boycott the mega event. IOA General Body on Thursday discussed the Dow Chemicals issue threadbare in deliberations which lasted nearly three hours and officials who attended the meeting said the members were not in favour of a boycott of the Games. "All National Sports Federations and state Olympic Associations unanimously decided to lodge a strong protest to the London Organisers and the IOC for the removal of Dow Chemicals as a sponsor of the Games," IOA acting President V K Malhotra told reporters after the GBM. "Thousands of our people died in the (1984) Bhopal gas tragedy because of a company (Union Carbide) later bought by this company (Dow Chemicals). Olympics is all about love, brotherhood, friendship and humane values and it is unethical and unacceptable under the Olympic Charter that such a tainted company is associated with the Olympic Games," he said. Malhotra also countered London Games Organising Committee Chairman Sebastian Coe's defence of Dow Chemical that it had bought Union Carbide 17 years after the gas leak in Bhopal, saying that it (Dow) still has liabilities for the tragedy. "It has been said that Dow Chemicals bought the original company long after the tragedy but the case is still going on and process of payment of compensation is not yet over. All the liabilities are still on the company (Dow)," said the IOA chief. Asked if boycotting the London Olympics is an option before the IOA, Malhotra said, "We did not discuss about a boycott. It's for the government to take a decision on this. We will write to the government saying that it's a sensitive issue and tell us what are the actions it's going to take." PTI