New Delhi:
President Pratibha Patil and Prince Charles will jointly declare the Commonwealth Games
(CWG) open, British diplomatic sources said on friday playing down the reports of any row over the issue.
"The Prince will read out Queen's message and then both Prince and Indian President will declare the Games open. May be it is an innovative way to do it," the sources said.
Noting that announcement of opening the Games by a representative of the Queen was "perfectly normal", they claimed there was no row between India and UK over the issue.
Charles is attending the Games as a representative of Queen Elizabeth II, the ceremonial head of the Commonwealth who will give the event a miss for the first time in 44 years. India and UK are believed to have reached a compromise under which the Prince will end his statement "declaring the Games open", while the President will say "let the Games begin".
Asked about the security arrangements for the Games, they said Britain was satisfied by the active police role and assurances by government authorities.
On whether Britain was satisfied on the safety issue at the Games venues, they said, "There was no reason to believe that the stadiums are not satisfactory."