New Delhi : Congress on Tuesday sacked Suresh Kalmadi, a party MP from Maharashtra, as the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) Secretary for his alleged involvement in financial scams in the Commonwealth Games as the Chairman of the Organizing Committee.
The measure came hours before the start of Parliament session as the Congress, heading the United Progressive Alliance Government, was anticipating questions over the CWG scam that involved thousands of crores of rupees of public money and dented India’s image globally.
A political bigwig, Kalmadi, who has been at the helm of Indian Olympic Committee, was in the centre of the storm over CWG scam.
He was forced to defend himself repeatedly against persistent allegations of pervasive corruption in the Games.
A number of investigations by the Income Tax Department and the Enforcement Directorat, among others, have been launched to look into various aspects of the Games.
Doubts were raised about the future of CWG just weeks before it began on Oct three as infrastructures remained incomplete.
With the UPA Government being dragged into the controversy, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh entered the arena and called everyone to support the CWG for the sake of the country.
After the games was over, Kalmadi skipped a felicitation function for CWG medal winners, which the PM himself hosted, citing other commitments.
This caused further embarrassment for the Government, which was already under attack from different quarters.
Kalmadi, however, complained that ‘too much’ was being made out of his absence since he was busy seeing off the international athletes who had come for the Games.
“I am not at all a persona non grata. I was seeing off athletes,” said Kalmadi, on a day when Income Tax officials raided 30 locations in Delhi on charges of misappropriation of funds for the Commonwealth Games.
However, reacting to raids Kalmadi said it was good that the probe started.
“I am not at all nervous. We have given great Games and we are ready to give the answers now,” he said.