Should India bid for the 2020 Olympics, as the Indian Olympic Association is known to be keen to do? Sports Minister MS Gill doesn't quite think so.
"I am not sure India should be thinking of hosting the Olympics. Please be very careful about this," he said on Wednesday while replying to a calling attention motion in the Rajya Sabha on India's preparations for the Oct 3-14, 2010 Commonwealth Games.
"There are some people who want entertainment, people who want fun and games," he added raising the possibility of a confrontation with the IOA on the issue.
This is because government support is essential for events like the Olympics. While the IOA appoints an organising committee to run the event, it is the government that is responsible for creating the infrastructure, as with the Commonwealth Games next year and the Asian Games India hosted in 1982.
"It is a point seriously to think about (whether India has the wherewithal to host the Olympics)," Gill maintained.