CWG corruption: Congress looks to keep off Suresh Kalmadi

NEW DELHI: With Commonwealth Games degenerating into “contractor wealth games” and details of under-the-table deals triggering public outrage, the Congress on Tuesday attempted to distance itself from its MP and the chairman of the organising committee, Suresh Kalmadi.

While it threw a protective shield around urban development minister Jaipal Reddy and sports minister MS Gill — “they are men with impeccable integrity” — the party was not willing to bail out Mr Kalmadi. “He is there not as a Congress MP, but as a representative of the Indian Olympics Association,” said Congress spokesman Shakeel Ahmed.

Although the unease in the government is growing over the way the organising committee has been cutting deals, there is recognition that an intervention at this late stage may not be practical. But the government leadership on Tuesday dropped clear hints that it would go after those who made a fast buck from the sports event. They also said that it would strengthen the government’s resolve to cleanse the various sports association of politicians. As many as 17 sports bodies in the country are headed by politicos.

The organising committee’s mounting integrity deficit was on display when the external affairs ministry contradicted Mr Kalmadi’s claim that Indian High Commission in UK had recommended AM Films and its sister concern AM Cars as the vendor for transportation. Mr Kalmadi had produced a letter from an High Commission official while defending the decision to pay nearly two lakh pounds to the firm.



The external affairs ministry said the official made no mention of the company and it merely informed the organising committee of the rates charged by vendors. In other words, the document distributed by Mr Kalmadi was a forged one.

But, Mr Kalmadi, who seems to have adopted a “brazen-it-out” approach, attempted another charade by setting up a three-member panel, comprising members of the organising committee, to investigate the charges.

“Organising Committee (OC) Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010 chairman Suresh Kalmadi has set up the panel, which includes Jarnail Singh, OC chief executive officer, GC Chaturvedi, special director general-finance, and Gurjyot Kaur, chief vigilance officer,” OC secretary general Lalit Bhanot said.