In regard to Olympic sports, I congratulate all the three Olympians who got us some medals of some repute this time. We congratulate Mr. Abhinav Bhindra and the wrestlers and boxers. But India has got the potentiality in the villages. It is only in the urban areas that the athletes are getting a chance to show their talent but there is a lot of talent in the villages, which could be harnessed. These rural talents should be harnessed. Show their talent but there is lot of talent in the villages, which could be harnessed. Today, I am saying about Marathon. Countries like Ethiopia which are poorer than India are getting gold medals. In India, a poor boy in the hill everyday goes five kilometers to fetch water and firewood for his family. He also does a record more than for survival. So, if this boy is tapped properly, he can become a future gold medallist for the country. At last, I would like to say that whatever the Government has done during its tenure, they have tried their best, but the coalition, which they had, was a motley coalition. I presume that they could have given us a better Government. They should have followed how Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee led NDA Government, which opened up the rural areas. During that period, it was the rural sector which got the maximum attention compared to other areas. An innovative scheme known as Provision of Urban Amenities in the Rural Areas has only got a budget of about Rs. 2 crore in the last Finance Minister's budget provisions. Allocation to this scheme should be enhanced and the rural areas should be our targeted thrust areas because 60 per cent of the population live in the rural areas. Madam, I rise to support the Interim Budget for 2009-2010 which has been commended by the hon. Finance Minister.
