London, Nov 29 (ANI): India has backed away from threats to boycott the London 2012 Olympics over the handing of a sponsorship deal to the Dow Chemical company, which has been blamed for 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy.
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) said that there is 'no question' of a boycott of the London Games amid a row over Dow Chemical's seven million pound fabric curtain deal, the BBC reports.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan recently called on Indian athletes to stay away unless the organisers ended the sponsorship.
"The funds intended for sponsoring the Olympics would be far better spent in alleviating the misery suffered by the people of Bhopal," Chauhan said.
But now IOA's acting president Vijay Kumar Malhotra said a boycott is not on the agenda.
"There is no question of India boycotting the London Olympics. We are not boycotting the Olympic Games and that is very clear on the IOA's part," the Hindu quoted Malhotra, as saying.
Malhotra, however, said the sponsorship issue would be raised with the London organisers.
"We want to express in black and white that there has been opposition in the country to the London Games being associated with Dow Chemical," he said. (ANI)
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