Biggest CWG fight : Sheila vs Kalmadi

NEW DELHI: The Games are over and the fighting has begun. A day after chief minister Sheila Dikshit said corruption in the Games preparations appeared to stem from the Organizing Committee, its chairperson Suresh Kalmadi hit out at her, saying she should look at her own departments. Blasting Dikshit's "attempt to take credit" for salvaging the Games Village, Kalmadi stated bluntly, "We don't want to be the scapegoats anymore."

He also pointed out that the panel headed by former CAG V K Shunglu would probe not just the work undertaken by "the OC at a budget of Rs 1,620 crore but also the Rs 16,000 crore spent by the Delhi  government". Squarely blaming the Delhi government for much of the flak the OC got, Kalmadi said: "The OC was constantly being criticized for delays and shoddy work when they were not at all involved in any construction activity... When the foot overbridge near the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium collapsed, it led to doubts about safety... We had to do a lot of hand-holding and cajoling to ensure that the full complement of 71 nations and territories took part in the Games."

Kalmadi's statement -- which he pointedly issued on Dussehra-- followed his exclusion from functions hosted by both the PM and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to felicitate CWG medal-winners. In it, he also mentioned that the Prime Minister's Office deputed a number of officers, including CEO Jarnail Singh, to work with the Organizing Committee. The import was clear: he's not going to silently accept all the blame for the messy preparations.

Many in the government and political circles are likely to agree with Kalmadi that the Group of Ministers, Cabinet Secretariat and the PMO should also be held accountable for the shoddy work that gave India many anxious moments.

With thanks : imes of India : link in headline above for detailed news.

 

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