Panaji: With the Lusofonia Games set to begin Jan 18 here, Sports Minister Ramesh Tawadkar said Monday that he does not like the concept of Goa hosting the Portuguese Commonwealth Games.
Tawadkar, a minister in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led coalition government, said that he warmed up to the concept only because the expensive infrastructure raised for the Games would be utilized by the coming generations.
"Initially, I was not willing to host the Games, which are essentially for Portuguese-speaking countries," Tawadkar said.
"I did not like the concept," he added.
Tawadkar's ministry is raising sports infrastructure worth more than Rs.200 crore for the Games, in which 12 Portuguese speaking countries - Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Goa (India), Macau (China), Mozambique, Portugal, Sao Tome and Principe, and Sri Lanka - will participate.
Tawadkar is not the only legislator to oppose the Games, which are a Portuguese equivalent of the British Commonwealth Games.
